All's Fair in Love After War
by magicalgold
Summary: Hermione helps the Weasley's deal with grief and hope in the days and weeks following the war, all while tentatively exploring her budding relationship with Ron and dealing with her own post trumatic stress.
1. Chapter 1

_Author's note: I've always wondered exactly how the Weasley's and Harry and Hermione managed during the time after the war. I think that the weeks following the battle would have been a time of heartache and grief, but also hope for the future. I'm especially interested in how Ron and Hermione dealt with the aftermath of their kiss and their budding relationship during this trying time. I'm definitely going to be making this a multi-chapter story. I've had the vision for this in my head for a long time. It's been taking me a while to put pen to paper but I'm really excited to portray how I think it could have gone down. Review, and send me a PM if you have any requests or ideas for me to add!_

* * *

The silence in Ginny's room was overbearing. Hermione felt as though it was crushing her. The burrow was also dark at night; sometimes frighteningly so to her. It's remote location meant that no light came in the windows from outside, and being that it was not a muggle household there were no electric night lights plugged into the walls. The only chance for light would be if she lit her wand, but the brightness alone would probably wake up Ginny, never mind the fact that she was too anxious to cast a nonverbal spell right now.

Hermione sighed. She wished that she could sleep in the same room as Ron at night. Maybe even the same bed, even though the thought made her blush a bit. It was coming up on two weeks since the war had been over, and her every night was plagued by horrible nightmares. Every evening, Ginny would collapse on her bed, exhausted, and drift off to sleep. Hermione figured this was largely due to the fact that she and Ginny had picked up all of the household chores formerly performed by Mrs. Weasley, who could only manage to come out of her room for short periods of time before she would burst into tears and have to retire to bed for the day. However, though Hermione was just as tired as Ginny, she would fight sleep all night, sometimes dozing off in the early hours of the morning, only to awaken from a nightmare. The only thing that calmed her was the fact that by then it would be morning and light would fill Ginny's room, allowing her to regain her composure without Ron's help.

She couldn't fall asleep at night. She just couldn't. Her dreams were so dark. In her dreams, she would feel the crushing weight of Bellatrix's body on top of her's, holding a wand an inch from her head and casting crucio over and over until Hermione could see nothing but darkness. Then, Dobby wouldn't save them, and Pettigrew would drag Ron upstairs and make her watch as Bellatrix told Ron that he wouldn't be tortured because he was a pureblood, but would have to die nonetheless because he was a blood traitor. Greyback would grip her by the hair and make her watch as the green light struck Ron and he died, and she would be forced to wonder how she would go on without him if by some miracle she survived this, almost not wanting to survive, hoping that her torture would be quick before she could be with him because she loved him and she never got to tell him and now it was too late so nothing really mattered anymore. She wanted the darkness to overtake her, welcomed it even...

At this point, she would wake up screaming. The first time it happened was the first night they spent at the burrow after the battle. She had heard screams in the distance before she realized that they were her's and she wasn't lying on the floor of Malfoy Manor but rather on the cot in Ginny's room.

* * *

Ginny was shaking her. "Hermione! Please Hermione wake up! Please! You're okay! You're at the burrow! Please for the love of Merlin wake up!" Ginny shouted hysterically at her as tears streamed down her pretty face.

Suddenly, Ron burst into the room, wand drawn, followed by Harry, Charlie, Percy, Bill, and Mr. Weasley. The latter two were guarding their respective wives behind them, their wandless arms thrown out in a protective stance. Hermione took one look at the way they had entered the room, so ready for a fight, their faces set in a grim yet determined look, and immediately felt guilty. Here she was, already intruding on a time that should strictly be for just the family as they grieved, and she had just frightened them by making them think more trouble had come to their home while also interrupting the few precious hours of sleep they could get.

Ron was by her side in a moment, softly grabbing Ginny by the shoulders and moving his sister to the end of the bed. He then grabbed her shoulders and looked her in the eyes. "Hermione! What is it? Please tell me," he said, looking concerned and terrified at the same time. Then, he lowered his voice so just the two of them could hear. "Does anything hurt? You can tell me. Please tell me. If it's something from... you know. Please."

"Ron!" Her voice sounded more hysterical than she had intended it to be. "Oh, Ron! You're alright!" Then, to her mortification, she burst into tears and threw herself into his arms, sobbing against his broad chest. Ron took it all in stride, though. He didn't miss a beat and wrapped his arms around her, holding her tightly.

"I'm right here, Hermione. I'm right here love. I'm fine," Ron said in a soothing voice as he tenderly stroked her hair. If she hadn't been so traumatized she would have been filled with glee to hear him call her "love" for the first time.

Chancing a glance over Ron's shoulder, she studied how the Weasleys and Harry were reacting to her outburst and Ron's comforting her. Mostly they looked relieved that her screams were only due to a bad dream. Ginny sat on the end of the bed smiling and giving her a knowing look even though tears were still visible on her face. Harry was giving her a comforting and sympathetic look, and it occurred to her that he was the only other person in the room who could have guessed exactly what she was dreaming about. Charlie and Percy both looked like they felt indifferent about the situation, still on high alert and checking the room and glancing out the window for any signs of danger. Bill and Fleur were also giving her a sympathetic look, and she then realized that even though they didn't know exactly what her nightmare would have been about, they probably guessed it had to do with what happened to her before she showed up bloody and broken at their cottage. Mr. Weasley seemed to be focused on comforting Mrs. Weasley, who was looking at her and Ron as if she were seeing them for the first time in years, although Hermione thought she saw a small smile flit across her face.

"Come along everyone, it looks as though Hermione is in good hands," Mr. Weasley said. Everyone except Ginny began to file out of the room. Harry stalled a bit and walked over to kiss Ginny on the top of her head, stroking her hair for a few seconds before he turned and followed everyone out the door.

It was then that Hermione had noticed that Ron still had his arms around her. She blushed as she realized that her breasts were pressed up against his chest. She pulled away and he followed her, leaning up against the headboard and pulling her into his lap where he put his arms around her again and began to stroke her hair.

It was then that Ginny spoke up. "Hermione… what was that?"

"Nothing, Ginny. I'm sorry to have woken you. I'm fine," Hermione said in a quiet voice.

"Hermione, you're obviously not okay. What the bloody hell was that?" Ginny looked alarmed again.

"Drop it, Gin," Ron said in a firm tone. Ginny looked as though she wanted to retaliate, but then thought better of it.

"Fine," Ginny huffed. "If you two lovebirds are going to sleep there, do me a favor and don't fool around on the bed next to me. No funny business, okay? I'd like to keep my dinner down, and if I woke up to catch you two going at it I would not be able to."

"Ginny!" Hermione exclaimed. "That is crude, and no such thing will be happening!"

"Can't promise you anything Gin," Ron said in a mocking tone.

"Ronald!" Hermione yelped as she slapped his shoulder.

"Oh, so you like it rough do you Hermione? Can't say I'm surprised.. it's always the quiet ones," Ginny said, cackling as she dove back under her sheets.

"Ginny!" Hermione was now going back and forth reprimanding the two siblings.

"We'll be good Gin. Try to go to sleep love," Ron said in a calming tone as she stroked her hair again and held her close. Hermione fell asleep and for once slept through the rest of the night.

* * *

That had been a one time thing though. She knew that Ron had been allowed to stay with her because it was the night after a horrific event and no one was thinking straight and Ginny was in the room. Mrs. Weasley would not condone her sleeping in Ron's room every night, and Hermione did not wish to disrespect the house rules, so she suffered in silence. However, tonight was worse than any of the other nights during the past two weeks. She couldn't take it. She had to see Ron. If she walked upstairs and just talked to him for a bit, it wouldn't be disrespecting Mr. and Mrs. Weasley right? They wouldn't do anything inappropriate. She longed to see him, to know that he existed and hear his soothing voice. Her mind made up, she grabbed her wand and hopped out of bed, on a mission to make her way up to Ron's room.


	2. Chapter 2

Once Hermione had tentatively felt her way to Ginny's bedroom door, she slowly pushed it open and then quietly shut it. Unable to stand being in the dark for another second, she quickly whispered "lumos" and then continued her trek to Ron's room. The stairs creaked with every step, and she prayed that she wouldn't wake any of the Weasleys, deciding that if she got caught she would say that she woke up to use the loo. Finally, she made it up to the top floor of the burrow, without disturbing anyone else in the house. She stopped at Ron's door, and suddenly wondered if she should knock or just walk in. She didn't want to wake him up, but if he was asleep what would she do? Just crawl into bed with him? She was pretty sure that he wouldn't mind but she didn't want to be presumptuous. Also, what about Harry? He was in there as well. She decided she would open the door and assess the situation. The door opened with a creek, and Hermione peered in the room to see Ron sitting up in his bed, his back to her, staring out the window at the moon. A quick glance at the cot told her that Harry wasn't in the room, and for a wild second she thought the worst; that death eaters had come in the night and taken him or he had ran away in his own grief and guilt. Then, she remembered that George had gone to the flat above the shop, unable to talk to anyone else in the family and wanting to be alone, so Harry had taken the twins' old room to give Ron some space. Suddenly, she felt a bit uncertain about her decision to come upstairs. She supposed that in the back of her mind she had registered that Harry would be in the room so nothing promiscuous would happen. He would have been a chaperone of sorts and there would have been no pressure. Now, it seemed a bit forward to have come up here. She worried that someone would find them together in the morning and think her a slag. Hermione was especially worried about Mrs. Weasley finding them together. She knew that Ron was Molly's baby boy and didn't have a good enough read on what the matriarch thought about her and Ron's budding relationship yet. Despite all of her thoughts, she threw caution to the wind, took a deep breath, and stepped into the room.

Suddenly, Ron whipped around with his wand drawn, and began to charge at her. The second that he registered it was her he immediately lowered his wand. She must have had a scared look on her face because he looked guilty and regretful.

"Blimey, Hermione! I'm sorry! You gave me a fright, I just reacted, I'm sorry," he said, looking sheepish.

"It's quite alright Ron. I understand. I shouldn't have walked in on you like that without warning. Maybe I should go. I didn't mean to disturb you." Her voice cracked on her last word.

"No! Don't go! Are you alright? Why are you crying?" She hadn't noticed until he said something, but tears had started to drip down her face.

Suddenly, they both walked forward, as if they were magnets that couldn't help being attracted to each other. His arms immediately wrapped around her waist and she stood up on her tiptoes to encircle her arms around his neck. Her head rested directly against his heart, and she stood there for a moment, basking in the proof that Ron was here and alive.

"So, what brings you all the way up here in the middle of the night? Just couldn't resist me?" Apparently Ron decided a joke would be appropriate to lighten the mood, but Hermione couldn't help but detect a note of hope in his tone. She decided that maybe a joke of her own might be a good way to answer him.

"Of course. I couldn't help but lay in bed and think about you, and knew that I wouldn't be able to sleep until I saw your face." She wondered if he could guess that her joke had a bit of truth in it as well.

"But really, what's the matter love?" Ron asked as he cupped her chin and tilted her head up to look into her eyes.

She decided that honesty would be best. If her relationship with Ron was going where she hoped it was, they needed to be open and honest with one another. "I couldn't sleep. Well, I guess I've been keeping myself from sleeping. I know that I've told you that the nightmares have been getting better but they haven't Ron. The only time I've been able to sleep is when I'm with you, and I couldn't stop thinking about you so I decided to come up here. I'm sorry if I shouldn't have." As soon as the words were out of her mouth she knew he would be upset.

"Hermione, you're telling me that you've been keeping yourself from sleeping on purpose? That you've been having nightmares and you lied to me about it? Why?" Ron sounded like it physically hurt him to think that she was suffering and hadn't told him.

"I just didn't want to bother you or anyone in your family. You're all going through so much right now…"

"Hermione…" Ron started, and she looked away. He grabbed her face with both of his hands. "Hermione, listen to me. You could never bother me. Never. I care about my family… but … I care about you too. The most, I reckon." His voice faded off at the end and he said the last part in a quiet tone, but she heard it, and her heart skipped a beat.

She felt a sudden rush of affection towards him. "I care about you too Ron. The most." He grinned at her and ran his fingers through her hair. Suddenly, it occurred to her that she and Ron had not properly kissed since their first kiss a few weeks ago. Sure, she had kissed his cheek and he had leaned down and kissed her head a few times, but no proper snogging had occurred. As if they both had the same thought, she arched her body up as he leaned down, and their lips connected in a chaste but sensual kiss. Without warning, Ron deepened the kiss, and wrapped his arms around her back, lifting her off the ground and crushing her body against his. She felt a rush of desire for him, more so than she ever had, and now that she had the proper time to snog him without the threat of death looming, she allowed herself to enjoy it. Her one leg decided to have a mind of its own, and snuck up to wrap around his waist. He groaned and thrust into her a bit, and she gasped, feeling hardness between the two of them and surprising herself when she realized that she did not mind it in the slightest. She knew what it was and it was as though it was finally confirmed that against all odds he actually desired her. The noise must have brought him back to earth, because he suddenly backed away from her, breathing heavily.

"Er, sorry about that. Um, want to lay down on my bed? Wait! I didn't mean it like that! I just thought that maybe you came up here because you can sleep easier when you're with me. I can sleep better with you too, so you should stay. If that's what you want." He sounded a bit panicked, as if he thought that she was going to say he went too far.

"Of course, Ron. I'd love too," Hermione giggled as she made her way over to the bed, putting out her wand with a quietly whispered "nox". She heard him let out a sigh of relief behind her. She laid down in his bed up against the wall, and he got in next to her, laying on his back. She turned and cuddled up against his chest, and he wrapped an arm around her as she draped a leg across his stomach. Once again, she felt the steady beat of his heart against his chest, a bit faster now, probably due to the activities they had just engaged in and the fact that they were now in bed together. She allowed herself to feel a moment of true contentment. It was an amazing feeling laying here between Ron and the wall. She felt so safe and loved. If she could, she would never take her head away from his beating heart; the ultimate confirmation that the person she cared most about in this world was full of life. He moved his head down and kissed the top of her head and ran his fingers through her hair again. She suppressed a giggled when she realized that it seemed as though he had a thing for her hair. She angled her head up and placed a gentle kiss against the stubble on his cheek. Just as she thought he had fallen asleep, she heard him whisper in the darkness.

"Hermione?"

"Yes, Ron?"

"I'm tired of beating about the bush. You know I care for you. A lot. I know you care for me. I don't want you to be with anyone else. Bloody hell, the thought of you with another bloke, of some arsehole touching you… and I don't want to be with anyone else either." He took a deep breath, and she waited. "I want you to be my girlfriend. Will you be my girlfriend, Hermione? I want it to be official. Let's start what has been a long time coming."

She smiled at this little speech that was just so Ron. "Yes, Ron. I'll be your girlfriend. I would love to be your girlfriend." She could feel him grinning against the top of her head.

"Brilliant."

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 _Author's note: I can't express to all of you how much I love you! I love writing fanfiction, but the reviews and messages I get from you guys make it that much more awesome! Thanks for everything, and once again please feel free to message me about any ideas or requests you might have. I have an idea for how this story is going to go but I would always love input from a fellow HP/Romione lover!_


	3. Chapter 3

_Author's note: You guys, I've gotten so into writing this story that I can't stop. I've spent the whole day writing. My plan was to spread it out, which I'm still going to try to do, but I wanted to at least share something with you, so I decided I would post this before I went to sleep. Happy reading!_

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Morning came quickly, more so than it had any other day she had spent in the burrow during the past few weeks. A summer morning breeze blew in from the window, and she smiled and closed her eyes, letting the cool, refreshing air hit her face. For the first time in a long time she felt rejuvenated after sleeping. A heavy weight pressed her against the wall, and she turned to see the long body of Ron Weasley curled toward her, arms wrapped around her in a protective embrace, a lazy and content smile on his young face. Realizing that she couldn't move even if she tried and not wanting to wake him, she felt content to just lay in his twin size bed at the burrow on a beautiful summer morning, as the sun streamed into the room and birds could be heard chirping outside.

She was a bit hot though, even in the pajamas that she was wearing. She looked down at herself and with a blush realized that she was wearing nothing but a tight sheer tank top that cut off at her belly button and a pair of pajamas shorts, rolled a few times to fit around her too slim waist. Ron, she realized, was shirtless, and it looked like he was only wearing a pair of boxers. It was no wonder that she was boiling hot- she had an over 6-foot-tall male pressed up against her and making skin to skin contact with her in a tiny bed. She stole a glance down his body and with a giggle realized that he was almost too big for the bed; his feet were almost hanging off the end. Figuring that it was as good a time as any to really check him out without him noticing and taking the mickey out of her for it, her eyes roamed up his hairy legs to the area between them, and she flushed when she thought about how she had felt what, according to the multiple books she had read about the human anatomy, had to be there. She had felt it last night, and it had seemed to be quite big actually. Not that she had any point of reference. It occurred to her that the only thing separating her and Ron were two pieces of flimsy fabric. Her mind jumped to a scenario where there was nothing between them, and what that might entail, but she quickly stopped the fantasy playing in her head and wildly wondered when her thoughts about Ron had started to become quite so, well, sexual. The thought of them doing anything like that gave her both an extremely nervous yet elated feeling. Deciding that she would have more time to decipher exactly what her thoughts were about that aspect of relationships- _because, she reminded herself with a smile, they were in a relationship now_ \- she worked her way up to his chest. It was broad and hard, even though he had yet to put back on the considerable amount of weight that he had lost while they had been on the run. His chest was littered with a patch of ginger hairs, that trailed down his stomach before they were lost underneath his pants, leading to the area that she had just told herself not to think about…

"Like what you see?" Ron's voice abruptly let her know that he was awake, and from the sound of it, had been for at least a few minutes. Oh god, had he seen her ogling him?

"Oh, um… well yes Ron." She looked up into his eyes. "I see you and I like you so yes I suppose I like what I see."

"No, Hermione," he taunted. "You weren't _seeing_ me the way that you are right now when you thought I was asleep. I see how it is. You're content to just salivate over me and use me for my body. Well, if you must, you must. Do your worst. I can take it." He could barely keep a straight face.

"Oh honestly Ron! Calm down! I will do no such thing!"

"Pity, I was under the impression that I was about to be assaulted by you. Which would have been a great way to be attacked considering the other ways I've been attacked in the past year."

"Ron! Enough! I don't know what you thought you saw, but obviously you are mistaken."

"Oh come off it Hermione. I'm just taking the mickey. Besides, you're my girlfriend now, so I reckon you can _see_ me as often as you like, just so long as I can _see_ you as often as I like." He then inched back a bit and she blushed as his eyes roamed up and down her body in an exaggerated way. It seemed like it had started out as a joke, but when he realized what she was wearing suddenly his face lost its teasing look and he gulped. "Er, yeah. Looking good. Great, even."

Now it was her turn to tease him a bit. His look of awe gave her a rush of confidence. She arched her back a bit and stretched her legs, effectively pushing her breasts up and out. "Like what you _see_ , do you?" He cleared his throat, but before he could say anything, Ginny burst into the room.

"Oh bloody fucking… you two better both be fully clothed. Good thing I found you up here before Mum did, Hermione. Do you know the fright it gave me when I woke up this morning and you weren't in your bed? I've searched the entire bloody house looking for you. I was about to wake up Dad when I realized that you must have come up here to see my git of a brother." Ginny stood in the doorway with her hands on her hips, the menacing look on her face a bit cancelled out by her pink pajama bottoms covered in snitches.

"I'm so sorry Ginny! I should have left you a note or something. It's just that… well I couldn't sleep last night due to... well you know… that one nightmare I've been having… so I came up here so Ron could comfort me like he did before," Hermione said in a hesitant tone.

Ginny's features softened, and she walked over to the bed, making an exaggerated examination of the two of them before she decided that they were indeed clothed enough for her to sit down. "What do you mean? I thought that you were at least able to sleep through the night now?" Ginny looked concerned, and Hermione felt a rush of affection for the girl who she now considered to be a sister.

"Well, not really Ginny. I've still been having some problems. It's just that… I didn't want to bother you," Hermione said as she looked down, a bit ashamed of her explanation.

Ginny glanced at Ron before she spoke. "Hermione, I'm sure Ron here has told you the same thing that I'm about to. Look, you could never bother me. You're just as much family to me as anyone else in this house. Well, that's not true because I don't exactly consider Harry to be family, because that would be gross. But anyway, I think of you as the sister that I never had. I know that Fleur is my sister too, but you and I.. we've always had a special bond. You don't have to marry into this family to be a part of it in my eyes. Although, it looks like you're well on your way." Ginny smirked and pointedly looked down to Hermione and Ron's intertwined hands.

Hermione followed her gaze and smiled nervously. "I know Ginny. I guess I knew that. I'm sorry, it's just that I can't help but feel like I'm intruding a bit…"

"Hermione! Come off it, please! Between Ron and I, there is more than enough Weasley love for you, not to mention how much everyone else in the family adores you! Although, I don't see why you would want to spend so much time with this sod instead of me, but to each their own I suppose." Ginny jerked her head in Ron's direction and flashed a smile.

"Oi! That's enough, Gin! I suppose it's because I can do things for her that you can't, isn't it?" He gave Ginny a knowing smirk.

For a second, Ginny looked repulsed, but then she gave Ron an evil smile. "Oh of course Ronald, I'm sure you are referring to the things that Harry can do for me that Hermione can't? Why, just the other day the two of us were downstairs on the couch, not sitting mind you, so of course what I'm getting at is we were lying down, on top of each other, and Harry does this great thing with his tongue when he's snogging me-"

"OI! GINNY! SHUT THE FUCK UP! I DID NOT NEED TO HEAR THAT!" Ron looked as though he was actually going to be physically ill.

"Whatever you say, Ronald. I think I'll go wake Harry now and get another little taste of that great tongue thing he does. Hermione, we've got to be downstairs soon though. Dad and Bill and Percy will be up soon for work and we need to get their breakfast started. So if you two could pull yourselves off of each other for a few seconds, that would be great." With that, she jumped off the bed and skipped out the door.

Ron rolled his eyes and focussed his attention back on her. Hermione met his gaze and they both sat there for a minute in a comfortable silence. Finally Ron spoke. "Hermione, you know, I think you do look great. But you know that's not the only reason why I wanted you to be my girlfriend right? I care about you. I really really care about you."

"I know Ron. And don't worry about the whole thinking I look great thing. I quite enjoy it actually. I think it would be a problem if you didn't think I looked great," she glanced down at his boxers as she said this without meaning to.

His eyebrows shot up, and his telltale grin was back. "Oh, is that right? So that didn't bother you? I'm sorry if it did, I can't control it you know."

She smiled at him again and ran her hand through his hair, lovingly brushing the fringe back from his eyes. "No, Ron. I actually rather liked it. Now if you'll excuse me I must go help Ginny with breakfast." And with that, she gave him a quick peck on the lips, hopped out of bed, and began the journey down the burrow's many flights of stairs to the kitchen, all the while mentally preparing herself for another day of the Weasley family's grief.


	4. Chapter 4

_Author's note: I haven't forgotten about what the Weasley's would have been going through at this time. It's not just all fun and snogging. The next few chapters are going to explore their grief and anger, and some feeble attempts at normalcy. Also, Hermione and Ginny face the fact that they are women now and thus are in more mature relationships._

* * *

Amazingly, Hermione made it down all of the twists and turns of the burrow's long staircase without running into anyone, stopping by Ginny's room to throw on a robe so as not to be so exposed in front of the other men in the house. She came around the corner and stood in front of the kitchen door, took a deep breath, and walked inside.

The scene before her gave her a little stab of pain in her heart. It was the kitchen at the burrow, with the seeming air of cheerfulness that it always had possessed, but something was off. It was almost as if this kitchen was a horrible and dismal place trying to be the burrow's kitchen in disguise, and it's facade was slowing slipping through the cracks. The dishes cheerfully washed themselves at the sink, but not the same way that they always had, which told her that Mrs. Weasley hadn't been the one to perform the cleaning spell as she had every day for the past few decades. Plates whizzed across the room and set themselves at the table, but suddenly one of them turned and made it's way back to the cabinet, as though it had realized at the last second that there was one less person to set a place for. Ginny stood at the counter chopping fruit, with her back to the rest of the room, but before Hermione turned her head she saw a tear drop down onto the cutting board. Fleur bustled about the room, but even her presence was off. She was as beautiful as ever, and Hermione couldn't quite put on her finger on it, but it seemed like her usual glow she carried with her had diminished a bit, almost as if she was in too much distress for her veela powers to emit around her. She now looked to Hermione like a regular woman. A stunningly gorgeous one of course, but she had lost her magical veela aura. She looked tired and sad even though she shot Hermione a ravishing smile that under normal conditions might have knocked a wizard right off his feet.

"Good morning, 'Ermione. 'Ow are you?"

"I'm okay, Fleur. And you?"

Fleur's smile faltered for a second, but was quickly back before Hermione could see her in a lesser state of beauty. "I am okay as well. Zere is a bit more to do 'ere before William and ze other boys are down. I will finish the bacon and eggs, how about you prepare ze coffee?"

"Sure Fleur," Hermione said as she walked over to the counter and flicked her wand to begin to magically grind the coffee beans. Hermione considered herself to be a modern woman, and under normal circumstances might have been questioning why it was up to Ginny, Fleur, and herself to prepare breakfast every morning just because they were women. But looking at the situation logically, it did at the moment seem like the best solution. After all, Bill, Percy, and Mr. Weasley had to get up every morning and go to work even though they were still grieving, and Hermione thought they shouldn't have to cook themselves breakfast on top of that. And if Mrs. Weasley got wind that her husband and her boys were being forced to cook their meals, she no doubt would have been frantically flitting around the kitchen, all while sobbing into the pastries. Also, Harry and Ron were hopeless when it came to magical cooking, and would probably have burnt the house down if they attempted to make breakfast; Harry because he only knew how to cook the muggle way and Ron because well, Ron was just rubbish at cooking in general.

Just as Hermione was finishing up the coffee, the three men walked into the kitchen. She immediately picked up the coffee pot and walked around the table, filling their mugs. She then charmed the cream and sugar to make their rounds and offer a helping to each Weasley man. She stood in the kitchen looking out the window, trying to get lost in the view out there instead of the view in the room. She then turned back around to see the cream and sugar pestering Percy, who was staring off at nothing in front of him, gently bumping him on the head until he looked up and said, "Oh, no thank you, just black for me." The cream and sugar nodded and made their way back to the cabinet. The table was a very sorry sight, and Hermione almost felt a bit angry and envious that Ron and Harry didn't have to witness this every morning.

After what felt like an eternity of scraping plates and heavy sighs, Mr. Weasley stood up first, thanked the girls for breakfast, and was quickly out the fire place. Percy stood up after him and muttered something about his intentions to check on his father throughout the day, following him. Then, Bill was up, and Fleur was quickly at his side.

"Goodbye my love. Think 'appy thoughts and 'ave a wonderful day," Fleur whispered in a soothing voice as she placed a kissed on Bill's scarred face.

Bill sighed, but all the same leaned into the kiss. "Thanks, love. I'll be thinking of you," Bill said. And with that, he was gone, the same way his father and brother had gone a few moments before.

Then the kitchen was filled with a defining silence. After a minute or so, Hermione heard a sniff and looked over to see Fleur, sitting at the table with her head in her hands, tears streaming down her porcelain face. She and Ginny exchanged a glance, and then Hermione watched as Ginny got a determined look on her face and walked up to Fleur. She pulled the chair next to her out and took a seat, putting her arm around the older witch. At Ginny's touch, Fleur started to sob even harder, and now Hermione sat down at the table, determined to help Ginny with consoling the distressed woman in front of them.

"I am so sorry, Ginny! I should not be crying in your kitchen! I am just so upset..of course you know zat. But my William, 'e is distraught of course. He is my love and I cannot stand to see 'im like zis."

"Fleur, don't worry about it. When you married that love of yours you became a part of this family, so I reckon you can cry anywhere in our house you damn well please," Ginny said.

"Oh Ginny, zank you for zat. You are my sister, no? And you too 'Ermione," Fleur said with a kind look in Hermione's direction.

Hermione was about to object, to say that Ginny and Fleur were true sister-in-laws, but Ginny gave her a strong look that seemed to say _don't you dare_.

"Of course, Fleur. I thought I was lucky enough to find a sister in Ginny, but now that I have you too… you mean a lot to me. I hope you know that. I really do think of the three of us as sisters when we are all here at the burrow," Hermione said in a comforting tone as she stroked Fleur's hand.

"And I as well. To think, next time Gabrielle comes to visit, we will have a fourth, no?" Fleur said with a smile.

"Yup. Owl her right now and let's get the whole band together," Ginny said with a joking grin.

"Zank you girls. You see, I guess I was under ze emmpresion zat William was feeling a bit better. You see, well I guess I can talk to you girls about zis, after all you are not so much girls anymore as you are women… but I have been trying so 'ard to make William feel better. Last night, well, we finally made love for ze first time since before ze battle. It was beautiful, and William seemed like it 'ad made him feel so much better, but zen zis morning he was back to zis sadness... I know zat it might 'ave been ridiculous to assume zat would make et all better… I just thought zat since our connection was reestablished zat 'e would open up to me again…"

Hermione was a bit shocked that Fleur had begun to talk so freely about such an intimate part of her life, but then she figured that they were all like sisters and these conversations probably did come up between adult girlfriends. Hermione supposed that she and Ginny were women now, and these types of things were going to come up. They did both have boyfriends. Ginny, on the other hand, looked like she was thinking very carefully about what to say. Hermione decided that she would speak to fill the silence.

"Fleur, I know that must have been difficult. Well, I can't speak from experience, but I imagine having a very intimate connection with someone you love and then that having been their reaction the next morning would be upsetting. But try not to think of it that way. I know Bill loves you and you probably did make him feel better… it had nothing to do with you... he's just grieving." Hermione tried to say this in her most convincing tone.

"Of course you are right 'Ermione. I am just at a loss for what to do. I love 'im so much…"

At this point, Ginny decided to jump in. "Another woman who I can't understand why she would be so enamored with one of my git brothers."

Fleur laughed her beautiful tinkling laugh. "Ginny, you know 'ow wonderful William es…"

"Of course I do Fleur, just taking the mickey. Look, Hermione is right. You now how blokes are. He probably had a great time with the sex last night and then woke up this morning feeling sad about everything that's happened, but didn't connect his morning feelings to what you guys did the night before like us girls would."

"Yes, zat would make sense… 'e did seem to be 'aving a nice time, and for a man who had not been intimate in a while he did 'ave a lot of stamina…"

"Oi! Look, Fleur. I love you and I love my brother and everything and I'm happy to help, but I do not need to know about his skills in bed. That goes for you too Hermione." Ginny shot Hermione a knowing look.

"Ginny!" Hermione's face blushed a bright red and she was so embarrassed she didn't know where to look.

"Oh, Ronald, no? The two of you are very much in love I can see, but I did not realize you 'ad become intimate with 'im," Fleur said, eyeing Hermione in a caring way.

"What? No, Fleur. Ginny was just kidding. I mean, yes. Ron and I are together now. But we haven't done anything like that…"

"Like you don't want to…" Ginny muttered.

"Oh, it is official now at least? Zat es wonderful 'Ermione. Just wonderful," Fleur said.

"Thanks, Fleur. I think so too," Hermione said with a little smile.

"Just so you girls know, I know that you 'ave Maman Weasley to talk to, but if you would like a younger woman's opinion, I would be 'appy to 'elp you with anything sexual… if you need contraception… I of course am a married woman so I 'ave my methods which I would be 'appy to tell you about and 'elp you acquire everyzing," Fleur interjected in a caring tone.

Hermione didn't know what to say, but Ginny found her voice and apparently decided that this was another great opportunity to poke fun at her and Ron. "You hear that Hermione? When it comes time for you and Ronald to make sweet sweet love, Fleur will be happy to help you insure that none of the infamous Weasley swimmers get through."

"Ginny!" Hermione exclaimed for what felt like the hundredth time this morning.

"Let 'er joke 'Ermione. I was talking to you as well, Ginny. I see you and 'Arry together."

"Oh, well…" Ginny seemed to actually be at a loss of words for once, but then she smiled. "Thank you Fleur, that means a lot. Really."

"Of course girls. I know what et es like to 'ave found a great man. You both 'ave, so et will do you well to be prepared."

And with that, their girl talk ended, because the two great men that Hermione and Ginny had found had finally roused themselves and decided to wander downstairs for breakfast.


	5. Chapter 5

_Author's note: Thanks to everyone for the love! I'm really surprised and flattered that so many people have been messaging me and viewing this story. I love to write Harry Potter fanfiction so much and was a bit nervous to throw my work out into the interwebs for the masses to view, but I'm glad I did. I'm trying to write everyone as true to their character as possible, but some twists are thrown in there on purpose because I think that there might have been a few personality blips after experiencing something so horrifc. Tempers are going to flare for sure._

* * *

As soon as Harry and Ron walked through the kitchen door, they stopped and stared, suddenly looking terrified and as though they wanted to turn on the spot and run from the room. Immediately Hermione looked around the kitchen and behind her, thinking that there must be some form of a threat among them. However, after she sensed no danger, she quickly realized that the cause of their horror was that they had walked in on the three of them crying, and nothing could send two teenage boys from a room quicker than three weeping girls. Just as Ron looked like he was about to say something that he would mean well but would probably end up being totally inappropriate, Ginny jumped up and walked over to Harry for a kiss, effectively saving Ron and calming both of the boys down. Hermione smiled as Harry easily took Ginny into his arms. They seemed to effortlessly fit together.

Ron warily side eyed them and gave Harry a feeble "Watch your hands, Potter" before focussing his attention on Hermione. Her heart leapt as his face seemed to light up at just the mere sight of her. He crossed the room quickly and pulled her into his arms, kissing her soundly on the mouth and gripping her arse firmly to pick her up. She gasped at the liberties he was taking with his hands, especially in his mother's kitchen, but found that she was willing to let it slide just this once.

"Watch my hands? Watch your hands, mate! Where do you get off saying that to me when you're bloody standing here in the kitchen pawing at Hermione?" Harry's voice broke the fog that had begun to consume her head that was starting to come with kissing Ron.

Ron however, did not seem regretful in the slightest, but gripped her tighter and turned his head to look at Harry. "Worry about your own damn hands. That's my sister you're groping. One of these days I won't be so lenient and might just have to clock you one," Ron shouted back at Harry. She heard Harry mutter something that sounded like "Hermione's as good as mine…"

"Shut up Ron, if I hear you say one more thing about me and Harry, even as a joke, I swear I'll hex your bollocks off! I can take care of myself!" Ginny screamed.

"Oh come on Gin, I'm your older brother… I need to look out for you."

"Well I don't know what the hell you're looking out for. Harry is the best guy out there for me, and you know it!"

"Even so Gin-"

"Why don't all of you sit down to breakfast? Or better yet, you all can go sit out in ze drawing room and I can send it out zere, I'd actually like to clean the kitchen so I can go to Diagon Alley, I 'ave a few errands to run," Fleur interrupted before the argument could escalate more.

Ginny nodded and grabbed Harry by the hand, dragging him out of the room. Hermione gently removed Ron's hands from her bottom, which she realized had been there the entire time, and turned to follow them.

Out in the drawing room, Ginny pushed Harry onto the couch and blatantly climbed onto his lap, wiggling her bottom a few times before grabbing Harry's arms and wrapping them around her waist. Ron was starting to look annoyed again.

"Gin, maybe we shouldn't be sitting here like this, I mean we are about to eat after all, not too practical you know…" Harry's voice faded off when Ginny turned and gave him a menacing look.

"No, Harry. I think this will be a great position for us to eat. Even more so if you do this." Then, she grabbed Harry's hands in her's, locked eyes with Ron, and purposefully slid Harry's hands under her shirt, up towards her breasts. Harry yelped and yanked his hands away, and Ron looked like he was about to explode. "Ginny, don't make me sick. I don't want you doing that shit," Ron snarled.

"Well too bad, Ron. I'll being doing it a lot I expect," Ginny quipped.

Ron was about to retaliate, but just then their breakfast came whizzing into the room.

"Okay!" Hermione yelled and clapped her hands. "Let's eat!"

Ginny sighed and rolled off of Harry's lap, but was careful to purposefully drape her legs across his. Ron sighed as well and sat down in the big chair, pulling Hermione with him. Ginny turned and looked at them with wide eyes. "Are you kidding me? Here you are hemming and hawing about me sitting on my boyfriend's lap, and then you go and do the same thing. You're such a fucking twat sometimes, Ron."

Harry guffawed at Ginny's remark. She did have quite a mouth on her, having grown up with six older brothers. Hermione would never speak like that, especially in front of the boys, but Ginny was different and Harry seemed to love her for that.

"Yeah, well it's different for me. I'm a bloke. And you think that you can do whatever the fuck you want in front of me. You wouldn't have just pulled that shit in front of Bill or Charlie," Ron said as he gave Harry a meaningful look. Harry gulped and looked like he didn't much care for the idea of showing any sort of affection for Ginny in front of her two eldest brothers.

"Oh yeah? Well that's where you're wrong, Ron. I'd gladly put Harry's hands on my tits- don't wince yes that's right I have tits Ron I am a girl-in front of Bill, or Charlie, or Percy, or George, or Fr-"

She stopped short and realized what she had just said. Her face crumpled. "Well, I guess you have me there Ron. I guess I wouldn't do it in front of Fred."

They sat in silence for a moment, Ginny looking like she was on the verge of tears and Harry tenderly stroking her hair, giving Ron a nasty look as though he had taken this thing too far.

Ginny stood up abruptly and ran out of the room.

"Nice going, Ron," Harry said in an annoyed tone as he made to follow Ginny.

"Shut up Harry. She's my bloody sister, and I'm right."

"Yeah? Well she's my bloody girlfriend, and I'm getting tired of you talking to her like that."

"Talking to her like-? Stay the hell out of this Harry!" Harry looked as though he wanted to punch Ron.

"Harry!" Hermione quickly interjected. "Let me go upstairs to talk to her. Why don't you stay here and try to work this thing out with Ron?"

Harry looked like he wanted to argue, but then nodded. Hermione turned to kiss Ron on the cheek before she climbed off his lap and followed Ginny up the stairs, leaving the boys to hopefully work things out.

* * *

 _Author's note: A bit of sibling rivalry. I picture Ron and Ginny as being angry in general about everything of course. Ron with his usual temper would be looking for any excuse to start a fight, so the second that he sees a little something that he doesn't like he goes off. I think it would be too much for him to be loosing any part of Ginny, even if it is to Harry, when he's already lost a sibling. Also, it can't help that his relationship with Hermione is starting to pick up, and he's not too fond of Ginny doing the same types of things._


	6. Chapter 6

_Author's note: This chapter broke my heart a bit. I know Ginny is strong, but I think that Fred's death would have been the thing to break her just a little._

* * *

Even though Ginny's room was as good as her's when she stayed at the burrow, Hermione felt the need to knock before she walked in. Ginny's distressed voice carried through the door. "If that's Ron, you can fuck off."

Hermione cautiously opened the door. Ginny lay face down on her bed, shaking. Hermione approached the bed and sat down next to Ginny, placing a hand on her back, rubbing it in small circles. They sat like that for a few minutes. Ginny crying and shaking, Hermione rubbing her back in an attempt to comfort her. Then, Ginny mumbled something.

"What was that, Ginny?" Hermione asked.

"I just miss him so much Hermione."

"I know, Ginny. I know," her voice cracked on the last word. Tears began to stream down her face, landing on Ginny's frilly blanket.

Ginny finally turned and looked Hermione in the eyes. Her face was blotchy and red, tears pooling in her eyes. She still somehow looked pretty. Hermione fleetingly thought that if Ginny wore makeup it would have been running down her face right now. She turned and laid her head in Hermione's lap, and Hermione continued to rub her back. "Why did this have to happen? I guess I always knew that it could, but for some reason I stupidly thought that our family would be invincible. Pretty dumb, huh? What's so special about us? Plenty of bad things were happening to other people," Ginny sniffed.

"That's not stupid Ginny. I think I thought the same thing," Hermione said in a comforting tone.

"I know that I go on about my brothers being gits, but I love them all so much Hermione. Why was he taken away from me? From Mum? My own mother can't even get out of bed. I would do anything just to talk to him for one more minute… to see his face one more time. But of course I can see his face every time I look at George, and then I start to think about how terrible it must be for George to have to look in the mirror every day. I keep thinking about him, in the ground out there. Do you think he's okay Hermione? What if he's cold? Or lonely? He's out there all my himself. I was thinking, maybe I'll go sleep out there with him at night. It's always bloody hot in here anyway…" Ginny trailed off, leaving Hermione to sit in stunned silence.

"Ginny," Hermione tentatively began to speak. "Ginny, you have to know that's not him, not really, anymore."

"'Course it is, Hermione." Ginny was laughing now, looking at Hermione like she was crazy. "Saw them put him in there, didn't I? But now he's stuck down there and he's probably lonely, that's why I was thinking that I should go talk to him more. Or- wouldn't this be a lark- what if this was all one of his and George's pranks? What if I walked down there and he popped out from behind a bush, and shouted 'Gotcha!' like they always used to do to me? I'd laugh my fucking arse off Hermione."

Hermione was beginning to feel very alarmed. If she didn't snap Ginny out of this in the next few seconds, she was going to have to call for Ron and Harry, or fire-call Mr. Weasley, or disapparate to Diagon Alley to find Fleur, or something, because this was verging on insane. Actually, it probably was insane at this point. She grabbed Ginny by the shoulders and shook her for a few seconds, getting Ginny to make eye contact with her again. "Ginny, listen to me. Do you actually think that Fred is alive in the ground, or that he is playing a prank on you?"

Ginny stared at her for a few seconds, and Hermione was on the verge of screaming for Ron and Harry, when the younger girl's face crumpled again. "No," she whispered in a small voice. "I know that's not true. I guess that's just something that I tell myself sometimes when it starts to get bad you know? To be in denial for a little bit."

Hermione heaved a sigh of relief. Not that it was good, but at least Ginny's mental state wasn't as bad as she thought it was a few seconds ago. "Ginny, I'm so sorry. I really truly am. I don't know what else to say." Hermione was crying again and her tears fell down into Ginny's beautiful red hair, but Ginny either didn't notice or didn't care. "I can't stand to see you and the rest of your family and Ron like this. I love him Ginny. I'm in love with him, and I can't bare to see him unhappy. My heart breaks everytime I look at him. I would do anything to take away his pain. Anything. I would do it in a second." Ginny raised her eyebrows at Hermione, and Hermione looked down at her in confusion for a second. Then, she realized that she had just admitted to another person that she was in love with Ron.

"So, you truly love the git, do you?" Ginny asked.

Hermione decided that this was not the time to deny something that was true. "Yes, Ginny. I truly do."

"Wow. You and my big brother. He loves you too, I'm certain of it."

"I don't know about love, Gin…"

"Oh come off it," Ginny scoffed. "He's wanted to shag you since fourth year."

"Wanting to shag me and being in love with me are two very different things…"

"But I know he does Hermione. I just know it. And he knows I love Harry. Which is why it frustrates me when he acts that way around us. I have hormones too you know. If he wants to shag you, why can't I want to shag Harry? Not saying we will anytime soon, but if I want to he can't bloody well stop me, so he should just get used to it," Ginny said with a huff.

"I know Ginny. But I think it's just hard for him... you're his baby sister. And even though there is no better guy for you than Harry, he knows how guys think and he doesn't want Harry doing to you what… well I guess what he wants to do to me," she finished with a blush.

"Well, he better stop annoying us about it. He's sure not acting like you're too pure to be sullied."

"Ah, well… yes. I agree that it's none of his business and he should stop. I'll talk to him about it."

"Thanks, Hermione. And thanks for talking to me. About everything."

"Any time Ginny, what are sisters for?"


	7. Chapter 7

She opened Ginny's door only to find Harry leaning against the opposite wall with an anxious look on his face.

"How is she? Is she okay? Do you think she'll talk to me, or at least let me sit with her?" Harry's voice was verging on frantic.

"Yes, Harry. She'll be alright, and I think she would welcome your company right now," Hermione told him.

Harry grinned and nodded to her, obviously anxious to see Ginny. Hermione rolled her eyes and side stepped out of his way, letting him pass by her into the room. He closed the door, and Hermione was left to wonder what Ron would do if he found the two of them in there together. She figured that he was probably up in his room, so she started her search for him there.

Sure enough, that was where she found him. He was lying on his bed, staring up at the ceiling in silence. She walked into the room and he glanced at her, moving the covers aside to invite her to climb in next to him. She took the offer gladly, and snuggled up next to him. He wrapped an arm around her like he had last night and they laid there like that, for what seemed like hours. Finally, Ron spoke.

"Is Gin okay?"

"Yeah, Ron. She's fine now," Hermione said in a quiet tone.

"I'm sorry about what happened down there. I feel awful that I made her bring up, you know, F-Fred. I just… I get so angry sometimes… seeing her with blokes. Even if it is Harry, who I know is a great guy. But he did break it off with her last year. I know he had to, but he broke her heart. I can't let any more of my siblings get hurt Hermione. And I know how blokes can be. I _am_ one of them. Not saying that Harry would take advantage of her, but the thought of some bastard touching her… well fuck, I get just as angry at the thought of someone touching you. In a different way of course, but angry all the same. I guess it's just that I only have a few women in my life, and I want to protect them, that's all. You, Ginny, Mum, Fleur. I can't stand the thought of anyone or anything hurting you. I know, I know. You're going to say that you are perfectly capable of looking out for yourselves, and just because you're girls there shouldn't be a difference, but I'm going to worry in a different way than I would worry about a man Hermione, it's just a fact."

Hermione felt touched by Ron's words. It certainly wasn't what she had expected him to say.

"Okay Ron, I won't say what you thought I was going to say, even though it is true." He groaned, and she put a finger up to his lips to silence him. "Ron, I understand. And I get that you want to protect your little sister, but this is crossing over into an area that is just absurd. You can't control Ginny's sex life."

He blanched. "Bloody hell, Hermione. Don't say the words 'Ginny' and 'sex' in the same sentence ever again. Not unless you want to see me puke."

"Well, it's true Ron! Now, I'm starting to loose my patience with you. Your sister is a grown woman now. All of the other women you mentioned have sexual relationships that you don't seem to be worried about. Well, not me of course. But your mum and Fleur! And I'm sure that Fleur's is a very active one, what with her being part Veela and Bill having that bit of wolf in him…"

Ron smirked. "I'm sure you're right. But it's different with them. Mind you, not that I like thinking about my mum, but she's older, and she's married, and er, I guess I wouldn't be here if she hadn't done… things. And Fleur, she's older and married as well, and she's my brother's wife. I'll be honest, the first time he brought her home I was proud and a little shocked that he had nabbed her. But with Ginny, well, it's like this: she's my only younger sibling. She's my baby sister, and she always will be."

"Okay, Ron. But what about me?" she asked, remembering what Ginny had said in her room.

"What about you?"

"What if I was to… enter into a sexual relationship? You said you cared about me. I'm basically the same age as Ginny, and I'm not married."

A look of shock graced Ron's face. He stared at her for a second, then he looked a little angry. "What the… Hermione, who… what the fuck are you saying? If there was some fucking tosser who touched you back at Hogwarts… was it Krum? Fuck, it was McLaggen, wasn't it? Did he force you into something after Slughorn's Christmas party? I'll fucking kill him."

"What? No, Ron. I was talking about you. Me and you. You know, if one day down the road…"

"Oh." Ron looked extremely relieved. "Well, that would be brilliant."

"Brilliant? So you care about Ginny's virtue more than you care about mine?"

"No! Hermione, once again, I know how blokes think. Bloody hell, if you knew some of the things I wanted to do to you… but the difference is I know how much I love you and I trust myself with you. I know I would never push you too far or do anything you weren't comfortable with because I love you, ya know? Now, if another guy were to touch you, that's when I would have a problem. No one gets to touch you except me," Ron said this with such an air of confidence that Hermione lay there in silence for a moment, not sure of what to say.

"You love me?" she whispered.

Ron froze, peering down at her with a panicked look on his face. Then, he took a few deep breaths, gathered what seemed to be some Gryffindor courage, and spoke. "Yes, Hermione. I love you. I'm in love with you. Is it that much of a surprise for you?"

"Well, yes and no. I guess I just had this silly idea that you could never love me as much as I loved you for a while now, so to hear you say it…"

He smiled. "So what are you saying? You love me too?"

"Ron! Of course I love you! I'm so in love with you Ron… I can't even…" And for the millionth time in the past few weeks, she was crying again.

"That much, huh love?" Ron asked as he brushed a tear off her cheek.

"Yeah, that much," she whispered. Then she leaned in and pressed her lips to his, and he responded back in kind. He deepened the kiss and she found she quite liked it and wanted more. She was snogging him with wild abandon now. He growled in response to her assertiveness and opened his mouth, thrusting his tongue into her own mouth and biting her lip. She opened her mouth more to allow him better access and then had an idea. She caught his tongue between her lips and sucked on it, bobbing her head a bit, and this seemed to cause something to snap inside of him. He grabbed her and spun her onto her back, then flattened his entire body against her's on top of the bed and proceeded to kiss down her jaw and along her neck. She could feel all of his weight on top of her and loved the feeling of being completely covered by Ron. For a second, she wondered what it would look like if someone walked in. His taller than 6 foot frame was probably completely disguising her much smaller body; they probably wouldn't even be able to see her. The thought turned her on even more for some strange reason. He was consumming her. Suddenly he started thrusting against her and moaning her name, and her wandering mind focussed back on the task at hand. She urged him on, surprising herself by instinctively wrapping her legs around him. Then he was touching her everywhere he could. He slid his hands down along her sides and frantically untied her robe, and she let it happen. He rubbed his hands along her smooth legs and then stuck them underneath her pajama shorts, and she gasped, because she forgot that she wasn't wearing any knickers, and he was touching her bare bottom. He left one hand kneading her bum and snuck his other up to touch her exposed stomach, then moved it further up until he grasped her breast over her sheer tank top, and groaned when he felt her hard nipple through the shirt. She was gasping and whining and trying to keep up, peppering his face with kisses and wrapping her legs tighter around his hips, rocking with him and arching her body into his hands. Suddenly she didn't care if the door was open and this was his parents house and she had not yet taken Fleur up on the offer to help her with contraception. It all felt too good. She wanted him to rip her clothes off and take her right there… she could feel his hardness against her and it felt wonderful. She felt empty and she wanted him to fill her. There was nothing wrong with it, right? It was a one of the most natural things in life and they had survived so why shouldn't they? They deserved it. They loved each other. She knew Ron would do it if she asked him. She decided that she would lean into his ear and tell him to fuck her, knowing that her cursing would turn him on even more, and consequences be damned. Her mouth touched his ear lobe and she licked it. He hissed. She was going to do it. She was going to tell him to fuck her right here on his bed in the sexiest voice she could muster. She opened her mouth, and-

"OH MY GOD WHAT THE BLOODY FUCK!"

Hermione turned to see Ginny at the door, Harry behind her looking sheepish.

"I told you, Gin. I told you not to come up here," Harry muttered.

"Like I was going to listen to that. Mum is actually up and about, you two sex addicts, so I was coming up here to warn you," Ginny said.

"Sex addicts? No, Ginny we weren't doing anything!" Hermione yelped.

"Hermione! I come up here to tell you that my mother has made one of her rare appearances and catch you two practically shagging on the bed!" Ginny exclaimed.

"We were not practically... " Hermione trailed off, realizing that that was exactly what was about to happen had they not been interrupted. She also noticed that Ron was still on top of her. "Ron! Get off of me!" she hissed. He rolled and brought a pillow with him, not so discreetly trying to cover the bulge in his pants. Harry pointedly looked away, but Ginny took the opportunity to come even closer and stare directly at the two of them.

"So," she said, "You're a bloody hypocrite, you know that right?" Her eyes now boring into Ron's.

Hermione felt as though this was a time when she needed to come to her boyfriend's defence and save him. After all, she was the one who had gotten him all hot and bothered. "Ginny, give us a moment. I'll be down in a bit to ask your mum if she wants some tea."

Ginny looked annoyed, but threw Ron another scathing look and left the room.

They sat in silence for a few seconds, and for the first time in a long time it felt a bit uncomfortable.

"Ron-"

"I'm sorry, Hermione-"

They both paused. "You're sorry Ron? Whatever for?"

"Well, reckon I bloody well just attacked you, didn't I? I didn't even ask if you wanted it… I'm a lot bigger than you… if you wanted me to get off of you…" Ron trailed of.

"Ron, listen to me. If we ever start to do something that I don't want to do, you will know immediately. Have you ever known me to do something that I didn't want to do? More importantly, have you ever known me to not do something that I wanted to do?"

Ron seemed to ponder this statement for a bit, then smiled. "Well, I reckon you're right. S.P.E.W. was a bit nutty wasn't it? But you did that anyway."

"I'll have you know, Ron, that I plan on S.P.E.W. making a comeback, and it will be bigger and better than ever this time. I won't rest until I've hunted down every single house elf who isn't getting paid, and freed those who want to be freed. I'm thinking about setting up out an outreach program of sorts, you know, where we could get volunteers to visit their homes and tell them about all of the opportunities that are available to them. We could try to sit their masters down for a seminar, explain why if they want to be freed they should, you know? We could have clothes at the ready for them to give to their elves…"

Ron was looking at her with a smile on his face. "See, love? That plan is a bit barmy, but I have no doubt that if you want to you'll do it, and I'll be right there with you every step of the way."

She was a little surprised that Ron wasn't arguing with her or trying to knock some sense into her head. "Really, you would do that with me if I asked?"

"You wouldn't even have to ask," he said as he grabbed her hand. "Hermione, I want to be right by your side for everything that you do."

She smiled and leaned over to kiss him on the cheek.

He was smirking now, and she could tell that he was about to start teasing her again. "So, what you're saying is that you wanted me to have my wicked way with you?"

"Well, Ron, I will admit that while I wanted it in that moment, we were getting a bit caught up. I, um, I'm glad that Ginny came in here."

Ron looked repulsed. "I'm not. No one needs their sister to see them doing that."

"No. I was glad because she interrupted us," Hermione said.

Ron looked alarmed again. "So you actually didn't want to do that? I knew it… here I am giving you this big speech about how I trust myself with you then I go and jump on you like that. Mind you, I would never hurt you Hermione. You just have to understand, I'm so attracted to you. I love you so much, and sometimes I just… when you give me that look and you're wearing those fuck hot pajamas…"

"Ron! I told you I wanted to! We both got caught up in the moment. And, well, one of the reasons that I'm glad we didn't go where that was probably going is because, well, number one is that this morning I was blushing at the thought of doing anything like that, so I'm probably not ready. But more importantly, I wouldn't have been, um, prepared," her eyes shifted away at that last part, and Ron could sense that she was uncomfortable.

"Prepared? What's there to be prepared for Hermione? Are you planning on taking a bloody class on it or something? It's natural. We seemed like we were doing pretty fine just then," Ron seemed to find this extremely funny.

"No, Ronald! Of course you wouldn't be worried about this because you're the man! I'm talking about contraception! Birth control, you know? So that you don't get me pregnant and ruin our lives before they've begun? And, I probably should go to a healer as well. Well, I'm not exactly sure if there is a healer equivalent for a gynecologist… so I might have to find a muggle doctor which I probably would be more comfortable with anyway."

Ron stared at her for a second, then said "What the hell is a gi-no-coly… thing?"

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Oh, honestly Ron. It's like a healer for a woman's reproductive system… you know, vagina, ovaries, uterus, menstrual cycles…"

Suddenly, realization dawned in Ron's eyes and he looked uncomfortable. "Oi! That's enough Hermione! I don't need to know too much about that!"

"Oh, really? What is it with you men? So you want to have sex with me but you don't want to hear about the literal parts that would be involved with you having sex with me?"

"Pretty much, yeah," Ron said with a shrug.

"Well I'll have you know, Ron, that first of all this was a momentary blip. _That_ will not be happening for a while. We've only just properly become boyfriend and girlfriend last night. And if we do decide to take things to the next level, there will be a discussion, so you will do well to accept that," she said with a huff.

"Hermione… I wasn't serious. Okay, maybe I was a bit serious. But like I said I care about you, so we can talk about whatever you want to talk about, and take things as fast or slow as you want. Really. No pressure," Ron said with a kind smile.

"So if I would have asked you if you wanted to….you would have?"

"Well yeah," Ron said and looked at her like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"But don't you think it's a bit fast?"

"Hermione, as I've been trying to stress to you, blokes don't have the phrase 'too fast' in their vocabulary," Ron said with a shrug.

"Well… okay then. I really must be going though. I've already wasted too much time. Your mother could be back in bed and I haven't yet offered her some tea. I need to go help Ginny," Hermione said.

"Okay, do you want me to come down and help you?" Ron asked as his stomach grumbled.

Hermione giggled. "Let's go down together. I'll cast a warming charm on the food to reheat it and we can finally eat breakfast."

"I knew I liked you for a reason," Ron joked.

She smiled and rolled her eyes, jumped out of Ron's bed and pulled him with her.

"But, you know, if you want to give me an estimate of when this will be happening, that would be cool too. I'm ready to go whenever you are. Rain or shine, day or night, it's a heavy burden to bear but I can be there to fulfill your needs. Just let me know," he said with a wink.

"I'll keep that in mind, Ronald," she said with a roll of her eyes.

* * *

 _Author's note: I felt like Hermione being so willing to throw caution to the wind was a bit out of character, but considering everything she is dealing with, I can see her head not being as clear as normal. Also, I think at this point she is madly in love with Ron, and doesn't everyone do stupid things when they're in love? Shout out to banzi, who has been leaving me nice reviews and is also a fellow die hard Romione shipper! Hells yeah!_


	8. Chapter 8

Hermione and Ron walked down the stairs hand in hand, passing Ginny's room on the way. She thanked Merlin when she saw that the door was open and Harry was sitting on a chair while Ginny was lying on her bed. Ginny turned toward the door when she heard them walk in and sat up.

"Okay, you lot. What's the plan here? She's still up. Last I saw her she was coming out of the loo, but she turned and walked downstairs. She would have had to pass by here to go back to her room, so she must either be on the sofa or in the kitchen. Now, if she's in the kitchen she might have made tea, in which case we need to think of a new conversation starter. I don't think we should all go down at once. Ron, you're a bit dense and would probably screw it up. And Harry love, sorry, but you aren't the best at talking to women either- don't look at me like that you know I'm working with you on it you're coming along- so I don't think that it should be you either. I would go, but Mum has burst into tears every time she has seen me and wrapped me in a hug and not let me go for an hour. So that leaves you Hermione," Ginny said quickly.

Ron and Harry both looked relieved that they hadn't been chosen. Hermione wasn't exactly sure that she felt quite up to the task of going downstairs by herself, but she would do anything to try to make Mrs. Weasley feel better. "Alright Ginny, I'll try my best. I'll send you word if it's okay to come down."

Ginny looked grateful that she had accepted the task. "Thanks, Hermione. You're the best."

Hermione squeezed Ron's hand and began to make her way downstairs. At the bottom she had a clear view of the sofa, and on it, to her horror and delight, sat Molly Weasley. The past year and the loss of her son had taken a toll on Mrs. Weasley. Her hair looked greyer than the last time Hermione had gotten a good look at it, and sparse too. Her face had more wrinkles; she somehow looked like she had aged ten years in the past two weeks. Gone was the kindness that used to dance around her eyes. Instead, they were stone cold and looked at nothing as she stared straight ahead at the wall. On her body she wore an old tattered robe, it's thread coming loose at all angles. For a moment, Hermione forgot that she was looking at a heartbroken mother and thought how strange it was for Mrs. Weasley to be wearing something so torn up, for usually everyone in the family's clothes could be counted on to be sewn to perfection, even if they were second hand. Hermione shook her head at the thought, chastising herself for thinking something so normal in this abnormal situation. She took a step forward and a floorboard creaked, causing Mrs. Weasley's head to turn quickly at her direction. The two women remained still. Each looking into the other's eyes, afraid to speak. Surprisingly, it was Mrs. Weasley who broke the silence. "Well hello there dear. How are the others doing this morning?" she said in a voice that suggested those might have been the first words she spoke in the past few days.

Hermione didn't know what to say. Mrs. Weasley seemed to be acting like everything was normal, so she decided that she would act the same and then go from there. "Everyone is doing well. We were just all about to come down to get breakfast you see-"

"Oh dear! Yes! I must get started on that! The boys should be up soon…" Mrs. Weasley seemed to think that it was early in the morning instead of after noon.

"Um, Mrs. Weasley? They've already left for work." She paused when she saw the look of worry in Mrs. Weasley's features. "But don't worry! They ate! Ginny, Fleur, and I prepared something for them. Don't worry, we were happy to do it!" Hermione was trying to sound as nonchalant as possible.

"What? Get an early start this morning, did they?" Mrs. Weasley said in a fond tone.

"Um... no. It's um… it's past noon," Hermione said.

"Oh." Molly looked confussed and forlorn all at once. "Oh, well. I do apologize dear… I should have been up to take care of you kids. Where are the others, by the way?"

Hermione felt like she shouldn't mention that Mrs. Weasley hadn't been getting up on a regular basis to do anything for them, and also that the so called "kids" she was talking about had fended for themselves alone for the past year and had just fought in a war where they had seen more death and destruction than most people would ever see in a lifetime.

"Um, I think that they're just upstairs. But Mrs. Weasley… can I get you anything? A cup of tea maybe?"

"Oh, well that would be nice dear. If you don't mind I might just sit here for a while. I seem to be a bit tired…" Mrs. Weasley trailed off.

"Yes! I'll get that right away! Just sit here and relax," Hermione said with an air of relief.

Hermione turned and walked quickly to the kitchen. She supposed that it was safe or the others to come down. Mrs. Weasley might have been acting like nothing was wrong, but at least she was talking today. Maybe she was using the same type of coping mechanism that Ginny was. As Hermione started to conjure a Patronus to go tell the others to come down, it fizzled out just as it started to take its corporeal form. She attempted it again, but the same thing happened. She sat down in one of the chairs, momentarily stunned. She had been able to produce a Patronus perfectly for over a year now. The memory that she used always worked…

 _The memory._

It was of a beautiful day the summer after her first year at Hogwarts. She sat in the middle seat of the station wagon, between her mother and father. Her father with his arm around her and her mother lovingly brushing her wild hair away from her face as it blew haphazardly in the breeze. They pulled off of the dirt road, and walked for a few minutes; her on her father's shoulders and her mother carrying a picnic basket and blanket. They laid out the blanket on the forest floor, and she had spent the afternoon filling them with tales of the magical school she had grown to love. Her mother pulled Hermione into her lap and kissed the top of her head, proclaiming how proud they were. Her father agreed. They had both leaned in and wrapped her in a hug, and she had never felt so content. She was surrounded by a protective barrier made of two people who no matter how strange she had ever been never judged her, and loved her unconditionally. She had never felt so happy than in that one moment…

That had been the memory she had been using to conjure a Patronus. That wonderful day spent in the Forest of Dean with her parents.

She felt stupid for trying to use that memory. Any thought of her parents these days only filled her with feelings of dread and guilt. She knew that it wasn't the time to leave the burrow and look for them; it was still too dangerous out there and the Weasley's needed her. And part of her didn't want to go. What if she couldn't find them? What if she did and something horrible had happened? What if she couldn't reverse the memory charm? What if she could and they were furious with her, and wanted nothing to do with her? She would have to impose on the Weasley's for even longer until she got a job. Then she would have to go on without the two people she loved most in the world, next to Ron of course. She would never have another spa day with Mum, or sit with Dad on the sofa, watching a football game on the telly. And then, her children would never get to meet their grandparents. And she would always worry about them; wonder what they were doing and if they were okay. It was too awful to think about…

She made herself stop. This kind of thinking was not productive. Instead, she tried to focus on picking out a new memory to use. What about the time she had received her O's? Or gotten prefect? No, that wouldn't work. Neither of those filled her with elation.

Suddenly, she knew what she would use: Ron. He was the one thing in her world right now that made her happy. Elated, actually.

She closed her eyes and thought of Ron. That first day she met him on the train. She had thought he was cute even then. Every time he had smiled at her when she said something smart, or helped him with his school work. Every time he had defended her to Malfoy, and the menacing look he got on his face when anyone had ever called her a mudblood. The way he had held her after Dumbledore's funeral, and the way he had comforted her when she had shown up at the burrow later that summer, hysterical because of what she had to do to her parents. The way he had screamed for her at Malfoy Manor, and she knew that if she just continued listening to his voice she could hold on for another second longer. The way he had grabbed her and thrown his body in front of her when that chandelier fell, as if he would die before he would let another person or thing inflict anymore pain on her. When he had helped Fleur nurse her back to health at Shell Cottage. When she had kissed him for the first time and then to her delight he was kissing her back, and she knew that at least she could die knowing what it was like to feel Ron's lips on her's. Every night he had comforted her after one of her nightmares. The way his face lit up when she walked into a room, and the boyish smile he gave her when he called her "love". When he had asked her to be his girlfriend, and when he told her he loved her. Imagining what it would be like when the two of them made love for the first time. Imagining the two of them a while into the future, sitting on a porch somewhere on a Sunday morning, drinking tea while she held a beautiful red-headed child in her arms and Ron gazed at them lovingly…

An otter erupted from her wand, and gleefully swam around the room. It cuddled up around her feet and looked up at her expectantly. "Please go tell the others in Ginny's room that they should come down now," she asked the otter sweetly. It nodded, then turned and made it's way up the stairs.

She sat in silence for a moment, a bit overwhelmed at how her loving thoughts of Ron had enabled her to produce a Patronus that quickly in spite of having just changed her memory.

Remembering why she had come into the kitchen in the first place, she flicked her wand to put the kettle on. Just then, Ron, Ginny, and Harry came into the room, each looking a little jumpy.

"So she agreed to tea? Nice job Hermione," Ginny said in admiration.

"Yes. But… she's… not doing too well. I mean, she's seems to be fine. But… she's acting like everything's normal. Like it's just a normal day."

"Well, that's good, isn't it? Maybe she's ready for things to go back to normal," Ron said.

Ginny gave him an annoyed look. "What? No, Ron. It isn't."

Ron looked confused. "Why?"

"Ginny's right Ron. I think she's in denial," Hermione said gently. When Ron still stared at her looking confused as ever, she said "She's pretending like everything's okay when it's not. Well, it's more than that. She is trying to, or might have actually, convinced herself that what's happened hasn't happened."

"Well how was I supposed to know that? If she says that she's okay maybe she's okay," Ron said with a wrinkle of his nose.

"No, you idiot! We are trying to tell you that she's not!" Ginny yelled.

"Well I don't know Ginny! All you women are barmy anyway!" Ron yelled back.

"Excuse me, Ron?" Hermione said in an irritated tone.

"What? Oh, nothing love. You know I think you're brilliant and not crazy at all," Ron said in an unconvincing tone.

Harry stood by in the corner, a hand clamped over his mouth in an attempt to stifle his laughter.

A ready made cup of tea landed on the table, and Hermione picked it up with a roll of her eyes. "Just come in and help us talk to your mother, Ron. Oh, and prepare the cream and sugar before you do."

Ron looked like he wanted to retaliate, but then thought better of it. "Sure love. I'll get that for you."

"Whipped already," she heard Harry mutter as she walked through the door.

"Oh shut up Harry! Like you're any better!" Hermione heard Ron say before the door swung shut.

Ginny was on her heels. "Gits, the two of them, really Hermione. The whole time we were up there they were fretting about possibly having to talk to Mum about her feelings. Can you imagine? Like that would be such a hardship. My boyfriend defeats the darkest wizard of all time, then coils at the thought of talking about feelings."

Mrs. Weasley had turned to see them enter the room. "Here you go Mrs. Weasley. Ron will be in with the cream and sugar," Hermione said as she handed Molly her tea.

"Oh thank you, Hermione. This looks lovely." Then, she smiled and her eyes watered as she looked at Ginny, as if just realizing that she was there.

"Ginny love, you look a bit pale. Are you ill? Come here my love, let me feel you," Mrs. Weasley said.

Ginny glanced at Hermione for a second, before walking over to her mother. Mrs. Weasley held out a hand to Ginny's forehead. "Well, you feel normal. But you don't look so good darling. Come here." Then, she held out her arms to her daughter, and Ginny hesitated for a second before she got a tender look on her face and dove into her mother's arms.

"I'm fine Mum. Don't you worry about me," Ginny sniffed.

"Nonsense, Ginny. Darling, lie your head down on my lap if you don't feel well."

Ginny looked like she was about to object, but then changed her mind. "You're right, Mum. Wouldn't exactly say that I've been feeling well lately." Then she turned and lay her head down in Mrs. Weasley's lap, who immediately started lovingly running her fingers through the red head's beautiful long locks.

"Dear, your hair is a bit tangled. Been playing Quidditch with the boys again? I'll brush it out for you later sweetheart, and set it for you in those pigtails you love."

Ginny looked a bit alarmed, and Hermione didn't blame her, considering that she hadn't seen Ginny wear her hair in pigtails since her first year.

"Well, thank you Mum. That would be great," Ginny said.

"Of course dear, of course. You are my only daughter you know. The only one I get to really do those types of things with…" Mrs. Weasley trailed off, and Ginny squeezed her mother's leg and nuzzled in closer to her. Mrs. Weasley smiled down at Ginny and began to sip her tea all why never letting go of her daughter. She continued to tenderly stroke her hair and bent down to place a kiss on her forehead every few seconds. Ginny, who hadn't quite known what to do about the whole situation, seemed to finally relax and let the moment happen. Hermione was momentarily taken aback by the scene before her. In that moment, Ginny seemed so much like the little girl Hermione had met at 10 years old, with her pretty little dresses and ribbons in her hair. And Mrs. Weasley looked like ever the loving mother she had been when Ginny was a little girl. Suddenly, Hermione looked away, feeling like she was intruding on a private moment, and experiencing a stab of longing for her own mother. She knew that Molly was as good as her own, but longed for the woman whom she had known all her life. Who had kissed her every night and told her she would always love her, and would do the same types of things that Mrs. Weasley had just said, like brush her hair and braid it for her. A tear fell from her eye and she quickly brushed it away.

Just then, Ron and Harry came into the room. Ron levitating a tray in front of him and Harry still looking like he was about to laugh at any second. When Mrs. Weasley saw them, she smiled. "Boys! How are you? Ronald, do be careful with that tray. It was a gift from your Aunt Muriel and if she finds that it was dropped on the floor I'll never hear the end of it."

"Sure thing Mum, er, why don't I just set it right here?" Ron said as he directed the tray to a small table in the room.

"Hey Mum, isn't Ronald's hair looking a bit of a mess as well?" Ginny grinned evilly and Ron shot her a confused look.

"Oh? Now that you mention it Ginny... Ronnie, come here and let me see," Ron got an exasperated look on his face ventured over to his mother.

Mrs. Weasley reached out and ran her fingers through Ron's hair. "Yes, much too long. I'll have to take a pair of scissors to it later. Don't tell me that you're trying to look like your older brothers, Ron. You're perfectly handsome in your own right, no need for that long hair nonsense."

Ron blushed. "No, Mum. I just haven't had much time to cut it lately. I'll take you up on that offer later."

"Good," Mrs. Weasley said. She still had some of her fingers entwined in Ron's fringe, and caught him off guard when she used her leverage to pull him down next to her on the opposite side of Ginny. Ron yelped and tumbled onto the sofa, causing Ginny to start cackling.

"Blimey, Mum. What was that for?" Ron asked in an annoyed tone.

"Oh, nothing dear. Just wanted my two children to sit next to me for a bit, but I knew if I asked you you might run from the room. You were never much for sentimental moments, Ronnie, come to think of it none of my boys are…"

"Er, yeah Mum. I can sit here for a while," Ron said. To Hermione's surprise, he snuggled up next to Mrs. Weasley on the couch and put his arm around her, then gave her a kiss on the cheek.

Mrs. Weasley smiled, seemingly content to sit there between her two youngest children; Ginny head's on her lap and Ron's head leaning against her shoulder.

Hermione and Harry glanced at each other, both silently communicating to one another that this seemed like a private family moment between a mother and her children. Harry looked at her, alarmed, and Hermione realized with a roll of her eyes that he couldn't think of an excuse to leave the room. Leave it to her to be the problem solver.

"Mrs. Weasley? I heard Mr. Weasley talk about the garden needing de-gnoming? Harry and I were really excited to do that today, weren't we Harry?"

"What? Oh, um, yeah. We really wanted to…" Harry sounded like he didn't much care for that idea at all.

"Well, if you want to dears, that would be lovely. I'll send Ron out in a bit to help," Mrs. Weasley said.

And with that, Hermione and Harry turned and made their way out the back door, giving a part of the broken Weasley family a much needed private moment.

* * *

 _Author's note: I know that Mrs. Weasley kind of seems like a loose cannon, but that's sort of what I'm going for. She'll come around and take her place back as the matriarch eventually, but I wanted to juxtapose the fierce leader of the family that she usually is with this more broken and at lost mother. Just a further reminder of how hard Fred's death is for everyone, especially his mother._


	9. Chapter 9

She and Harry strolled toward the garden. She could see from far away that it was infested with gnomes. They ran around the shrubbery with evil little grins. Harry looked at her with a wry smile. "I don't know if you realize what you've gotten us into, Hermione. These things can be awful little buggers," Harry said.

"These things? Harry, they are living beings just like you and me," she replied with a huff.

"Yeah? We'll see if you're still saying that when when one of them is gnawing off your finger."

They approached the garden, and the gnomes acknowledged their presence by picking up tufts of dirt and attempting to throw it at them. "So what do we do? Ask all of them to leave, or…?" Hermione started.

Harry guffawed. "Okay, you really don't know what you got us into. No. You've got to grab em' by a place that they won't be able to bend and get you with their teeth, preferably their feet. Then, toss em' over the wall. Here, look." Harry made a quick movement and snatched one of the gnomes up by it's feet and with all of his strength flung it over the garden wall. The poor creature screamed and could be heard hitting the ground with a deafening thunk on the other side.

"Harry! That's barbaric!" Hermione exclaimed.

Harry rolled his eyes. "Hermione, if you knew what these things have done to us over the years, you wouldn't be saying that. He's fine. He'll be back in a couple of days ready to torment us all over again."

"Well, I suppose I could try levitating them over one by one…" Hermione pondered.

Harry chuckled. "Whatever suits you, Hermione."

They stood there in the garden for a while, Harry darting about and grabbing gnomes, twirling them over his head a few times and then launching them over the wall, while Hermione levitated them individually with a careful W _ingardium_ L _eviosa_.

She had been wanting to talk to Harry one on one for a while now. He was never much for talking about feelings, so she figured if she was going to get him to talk she would have to initiate the conversation. "Harry? How have you been feeling? You've really been through a lot, and I'm worried about you," she paused, hoping that he wouldn't shy away from this discussion.

Harry sighed. "Don't worry about me Hermione. I'm… well, I'll be fine. Honestly, my whole life has been a shit show up until this point, and I feel like this past year was hopefully the finale. People keep on looking at me like I should be more traumatized because I had to go face to face with Voldemort, but that wasn't my first time facing him, and I was always connected to him… It just kinda felt like any of the other times I had faced him, only this time I was even less afraid."

"But Harry…"

"Hermione, I'm more worried about you," Harry said quietly.

"Me? Harry, don't be ridiculous. You and Ron's family are the ones who have gone through so much." Hermione replied.

"Hermione, if you don't want to talk to me about it that's fine, but I really think you should talk to someone. I know you think that I don't know that you're still having trouble sleeping through the night, but Ginny told me what you told her." Seeing the annoyed look on Hermione's face, he quickly pressed on. "Don't be mad at her! She's only concerned about you! We promised each other no more secrets, so she told me. But she didn't want me to confront you about it because she thought I might upset you. But Hermione, you're my best friend. You don't have to pretend to be okay in front of me when you're not."

"Harry… I have been having trouble sleeping, well I guess that is until last night. I slept with Ron." Harry's eyebrows rose in a comical manner. "Oh, shut up. You know I didn't mean it like that! We just slept next to each other. He comforts me, Harry. Just being around him... I feel so safe. Not that I wouldn't feel safe with you of course, but no offense Harry I don't want to lay in the same bed as you."

"None taken. Let's leave that job up to Ginny, shall we?" Harry quipped.

Hermione giggled. "So, how are you and Ginny? I know I haven't said much to you about it, but I'm so happy for you. Both of you. You deserve it."

"Thanks. Well, it's going brilliantly. Took us a few days to really hash things out. She was really mad at me Hermione. That I didn't let her come with us and hadn't told her about so many things. I was really mad that she had stayed to fight even though she wasn't of age. But I think we both knew that no matter how furious we were at each other we were going to get back together. Being with Ginny is the best thing that has ever happened to me. You and Ron are like my brother and sister, but Ginny… well, I guess I just never thought that any woman would ever love me. I don't know. It's what Vernon and Petunia used to say to me all the time. That I would be alone forever and never have a family of my own because no woman would want to be with a freak like me. Then, here comes this gorgeous and brilliant one, who gets my humor and just… you know. Gets me." Harry looked at her a little uncomfortably.

"Oh, Harry…" Hermione reached out and put a hand on his shoulder.

"Don't worry Hermione. It's okay now. I have Ginny. And I reckon I'm not letting her go this time," Harry said as he awkwardly patted her hand.

"Oh really? I can just see it now. An abundance of Potter children with your messy hair and green eyes, and Ginny's temper. That will be quite a sight," Hermione teased.

"Er, yeah. I suppose it would." Harry said. He seemed like that didn't particularly sound like a bad idea to him. In fact, he was blushing and smiling at what she just said. "So, you and Ron huh?" Harry asked in an attempt to get the spotlight off of him.

"Yeah. He makes me happy, Harry. I love him, you know. And he loves me. You should know that I'm not planning on letting him go either."

"I figured as much. I'm happy for you guys. Here's the thing though Hermione: I know that you don't have any siblings, especially any brothers, so I feel like I have to say this. I love Ron like a brother, but if he ever steps out of line don't hesitate to tell me. I'll fuck him up, I swear. Don't worry. I've already had this conversation with him and told him I was going to talk to you. And this really goes for anything. If you ever need anything, I don't care what it is, just ask me. Whether it's money, or a place to stay, or… you name it. Nothing would be too big. I know that Ron is the number one guy in your life, but I'm telling you that I would do anything for you. If for some reason he can't, or won't, come to me. You've stuck with me through thick and thin. I'll never be able to repay you for what you've done for me, so anything you could ever ask of me would not be too much." Harry finished his little speech and looked at her almost as if he thought she was going to retaliate and argue that he in fact was offering too much. Instead, she felt touched, and decided that she should just thank him because he was never going to take no for an answer.

"Thank you, Harry. I love you. Not in the same way that I love Ron of course, but I do Harry." She turned and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. He smiled.

"I love you too Hermione. Not in the same way I love Ginny, of course."

"Oi! Potter! Hands off my girl!" Ron could be seen walking towards them with a joking smile on his face.

"Oh honestly, Ron," Hermione said and rolled her eyes at him. Although secretly, a thrill had ran through her when he had called her "his girl".

"What, love? Can't be having other blokes touching you. That's my job. I don't want anyone to know how sexy you are except me," he said with a wink.

Hermione blushed as Harry handed her over to Ron, and Ron encased her in a much more firm and possessive grip than Harry had. He turned and kissed her hard on the mouth.

"If this is going to become a regular thing between you two, would you kindly do well to remember not to do it around me?" Harry asked.

"Sorry, mate. As I just said, Hermione is dead sexy, so if the mood strikes me I will be forced to snog her senseless. If you happen to be in the crossfire, then so be it," Ron retaliated.

"Fine, fine. Although it would be nice if you would show that kind of acceptance around me and Ginny," Harry said.

"I told you Harry. I trust you if you're fighting Voldemort. I don't trust you alone with my little sister. You're a great friend, but I know you're a randy sod."

"Ron! What an awful thing to say! Are you telling me that the two of you didn't even try to talk about this when I went upstairs to Ginny's room?" Hermione scolded.

"Nah, we talked about it Hermione. I was taking the Mickey. Mostly. I've still got my eye on you, Potter," Ron said.

"I've got my eye on you too. Someone has to look out for Hermione," Harry shot back.

"I look out for her plenty!" Ron admonished.

"Alright! We have established that Ginny and I are both being sufficiently looked after, even though it is ridiculous and extremely unnecessary. Let's end it there before this escalates," Hermione shouted.

"Fine. Hey, let's go in and finally eat, yeah? I'm about to pass out from lack of food," Ron said.

And with that, the three best friends turned and strolled back to the house. Ron and Hermione hand in hand, while Harry groaned in an exaggerated manner about their continued public displays of affection. Maybe everything wasn't completely okay today, and maybe it never would be. But at least she knew that she would always have these two wonderful people there for her no matter what, and that was more than most could say.

* * *

 _Author's note: One thing that I love about Harry and Hermione's relationship is it shows that there can be a genuine friendship between a boy and girl where there is mutual respect and love. I think that Harry would always be looking out for Hermione because he feels the responsibility that a brother would. As he said to Ron after the locket was destoryed, he loves her like a sister, and it has always been that way. Also, it's good to seeing the Golden Trio having fun together again, isn't it?_


	10. Chapter 10

The rest of the day passed in a relatively peaceful manner. Once everyone had finally eaten, they were all in a better mood. Fleur returned from Diagon Alley with some groceries. Hermione and Ginny spent the rest of the day doing odd chores around the house, while Harry and Ron went back to finish de-gnoming the garden and to tidy up Mr. Weasley's shop for him. Mrs. Weasley did manage to stay downstairs for a while longer and even had a nice conversation with Fleur, but she had retired back to her bed in the early evening before the men had come home from work. Dinner was once again a solemn affair, with little talk other than attempts at simple pleasantries. Now, Hermione sat with Ginny on her bed, having finally taken a refreshing shower and changed into a clean pair of pajamas.

"I was glad that Mum was up today. I hope that she's making progress, but I can never be too sure," Ginny commented as she sat behind Hermione and attempted to brush out her bushy locks for her.

"Yes. I think it will just take time Ginny. I know that's what everyone says, but it's true," Hermione replied.

"I suppose you're right. I just wish there was something else that I could do, you know? It's breaking my heart to see her like this."

"But you are doing a lot, Ginny. I think you sitting with her today really helped," Hermione said.

"Yeah, I know… damn, Hermione. How the hell do you ever manage to brush this out?" Ginny asked as she struggled to detangle Hermione's hair.

Hermione giggled. "Years of practice."

The two girls sat in silence for a few minutes before Hermione decided to confront Ginny about what she had told Harry. "Ginny, Harry told me today that you told him about my problems with sleeping. I guess I'm not mad, but did you really have to do that? He already has so much to worry about."

"I knew you were going to bring that up. I'm not sorry I told him! He's one of your best friends and I thought he could help you. Also, we promised each other no more secrets," Ginny informed her.

"I know. He told me," Hermione sighed. "He also told me how much he cares about you Ginny. I'm really happy for the both of you."

Ginny grinned. "Thanks. I'm happy for us too. I really love him Hermione, properly. And he loves me. He told me the other night."

"Ginny! Why didn't you tell me? We could have talked about it," Hermione said, trying to sound affronted.

"Since when is Hermione Granger interested in having gossipy conversations?"

"Not gossipy, just wanting to know about important things that are happening to you," Hermione said.

"I know, I was only joking. Well, we can talk about it now. Harry and I have decided that we are in love. Okay, now you say something." Ginny smirked.

"Well, I just wanted to say that once again I am very happy for you. And you know that Ron and I are in love, so…"

"Wait a minute! You told him? And he said it back? Now it's my turn to ask why you didn't tell me!" Ginny admonished.

"I'm telling you now! Yes, I told him. Well, actually he told me first, then I said it back. It was really romantic Gin." Hermione couldn't believe the she was getting this giggly and excited over something like this, but Ron brought out that side of her. "And then…"

"Oh! Is that why Harry and I walked in on you two going at it like kneazles in heat?" Ginny joked.

"Well, for lack of a better term, yes. That's why"

The girls looked at each other for a moment before they burst out into laughter. "I know how you feel, Hermione. Sometimes I just look at Harry and it's like…. I can't even find the words to describe how much I love him. I think we're going to do it soon. I know we're not in mortal peril anymore, but I want to know what it's like to be with him, and sooner rather than later. When I…" She trailed off, and sniffed.

Hermione looked up at her and expected to see tears of happiness in her eyes, but instead Ginny suddenly looked very sad.

"When I saw him, lying there in Hagrid's arms. I… it's like I can't even articulate now exactly how it felt because I was in so much pain that my mind seems to have blocked it out. I thought he was dead, Hermione. I wanted to die, too, you know. I know that might sound ridiculous and dramatic, but it's true. I know I have a great family, but… I had thought that my entire future was going to be with Harry. And suddenly it was like in that one second it was all lost, you know? I knew that I would never find another man who I wanted to be with. In one second everything was taken from me. Flashes of everything that the two of us would never experience together were going through my head. Like we would never get married, he would never be the father of my children, we would never sit together on a lawn somewhere watching our grandchildren play. We would never get to make love. So in that moment, I almost wanted to beg Voldemort to kill me too. I just wanted to be with him, wherever he was. That would have been a better existence for me than living in a world without him."

Hermione just stared at Ginny, unsure of what to say. She couldn't even imagine what it would have been like if she thought Ron was dead. She was devastated when she had seen Harry lying there lifeless, but she understood what Ginny was saying. Ron was her future in her eyes, and if suddenly he wasn't there, and it wasn't a possibility… the thought of a world without Ron in it… it was just too horrific to think about.

"I've just been thinking about it, and it's like, what am I waiting for? It seems silly, after all that we've been through, to worry about my 'virtue' or whatever you want to call it. Mum always told me to wait until marriage, typical pure blood values and what not, but I know we're going to end up together. I would marry him right this second if he asked me."

"I know Ginny. I can't even imagine how that must have felt. I see my whole future with Ron too."

"Well good," Ginny said with a smile. "That means you'll be in my whole future."

She paused, then decided that she was ready to tell Ginny her biggest secret. "I have to tell you something, Ginny. Please don't be mad at Harry, because I don't think he told you about this."

Ginny cocked an eyebrow at her, but nodded for her to continue.

"I'm sure Harry told you about how when we were on the run we were camping in the forest a lot. Well, one day we ran into some snatchers, and they got us. I tried to disguise Harry, but it was too late. They suspected it was him-"

"Hermione, Harry already told me about this. I know they took you guys to Malfoy Manor and Dobby helped you escape."

"Well yes, but something else happened when we were there. You see, Bellatrix was there."

Ginny's eyebrows shot up. The look on her face told Hermione that Ginny had an idea about what she was about to say.

"She wanted to know about how we had come by the Sword of Gryffindor, so she took me for questioning. I don't really think it would have mattered whether or not we had the sword. She took me because I'm a Mudblood-"

"Hermione, don't call yourself that-"

"Just let me finish Ginny. This is hard enough as it is." Ginny nodded, and Hermione continued. "So, she tortured me. She used a few different methods, but mostly crucio. I don't know how many times. I kept blacking out and waking back up, but Ron told me he lost track at twenty."

"Dear God, Hermione," Ginny looked horrified.

"So that's the recurring nightmare I've been having…" Hermione trailed off.

"Hermione… have you told anyone else about this? I know that the bitch is dead and everything, but that is a war crime. Maybe the Ministry should know about this. I think you should go to Saint Mungo's and have some tests run..."

"I'm not crazy, Ginny," Hermione said in a small voice.

"I'm not saying you are! But this is the cruciatus curse we're talking about Hermione! It could have done more damage than you know."

"I know what it can do Ginny. I was hit with it more than twenty times."

Ginny looked like she was at a loss for words, so Hermione continued.

"But do you want to know what the worst part of it all was? I could hear Ron screaming for me, and all I could think of was how much pain it was causing him to have to listen to me. I mean, it was his voice that made me want to hang on, but… it was like it was more painful for me to have to hear him. And I wanted her to keep torturing me, because I knew that if she stopped she was going to bring up Ron next because they were keeping Harry for Voldemort. And I figured that it would either be they would make him watch me being tortured and killed, then kill him, or make me watch him being killed then torture me some more. You know, because I was a Mudblood and he was a blood traitor. So sometimes that's what my dream morphs into. Dobby doesn't come to get us."

"Hermione, I'm so sorry. I had no idea," Ginny said in a somber voice.

"You had no reason to think it had happened. But Ron is the only one who can comfort me when it happens. That's why I was in his room last night."

"Hermione, if you need Ron, then we can make that happen. Go up there every night if you need to, and I'll cover for you," Ginny said.

"Thank you, Ginny. I think that might help. Only I don't want to disrespect your mother's rules."

"Sod the rules! This is a great fucking reason to break them!" Ginny exclaimed.

"Okay… if you're sure."

"I am! Anything you need of me to help you Hermione, I'll do."

"Thanks Ginny. That really means a lot."

"I mean it. Don't ever hesitate to ask," Ginny said with a stern look.

"Well, I guess I'll be going up there, now." Hermione said, trying not to seem eager.

"Go ahead. I'll see you in the morning. Love you, Hermione."

Once again, Ginny had really made her feel like a sister. "Love you too, Gin."

* * *

 _Author's note: I do think that Hermione would have eventually told Ginny about her torture. They are like sisters, and now that Ginny and Harry are a package deal, Ginny will be included in The Golden Trio's secrets more often._


	11. Chapter 11

Hermione knocked on Ron's door. "Come in!" She heard him yell and chuckled at how eager he sounded.

She smiled and opened the door, only to see Ron standing in the middle of the floor, staring up at the ceiling. "Oi! Calm down! I know you spent the better part of a year down here, but you have to stay up there now! This is my room, damn it!" For a moment Hermione was perplexed as to what Ron was yelling about, until she heard a loud groan coming from the vicinity of the attic and some noisy clanging sounds. "I swear Hermione, the bloke spends a while down here and now it seems like he's accustomed to a bed. I told him that it was only a temporary arrangement, but I guess I should have known he didn't understand, not too bright are they, ghouls…"

Hermione laughed. "Oh Ron, let him have his moment to be upset. He was rather nice to us last year when we brought him down. And maybe he's being a bit loud because the house has been so quiet."

"A bit loud? You're not the one who lives right underneath him. He's been banging on the bloody pipes for hours now."

"Well, it seems like he's stopped for now." Had it really been that long ago when they had coerced the ghoul down from the attic and transfigured him to look like Ron? It seemed like it was just yesterday, but that it also could have been a lifetime ago.

"Alright, but if he goes at it again I swear I'm climbing up there and stunning him or something."

"You will do no such thing, Ron. Leave him be," Hermione scolded.

"Fine, fine. You know, you could do something to distract me from him," Ron said with a sly grin.

"Oh really? What exactly might you have in mind?" Hermione asked, playing along.

"Well if I actually told you what I had in mind, you would hex me. So we could just snog," Ron replied.

"Well, it's a start at least," Hermione quipped.

She tilted her head all the way back to catch his lips with hers. He wasted no time in sneaking his tongue into her mouth and grazing it against her teeth. They lazily snogged for a few minutes. After a while, Hermione could tell that Ron was having difficulty controlling himself and keeping their activities to just snogging. He kept on leaning in forcefully and making a grab for the back of her head or lower back, then snatching his hand away. She giggled. "Is something wrong Ron?"

"No. Er, want to get in my bed? You are sleeping up here tonight, right?" He asked.

"Yes. I've told Ginny that I'll be staying up here and she's agreed to cover for me."

"Brilliant. Well, come on, then." Ron snatched her hand and steered her towards the bed. He got in next to her and reached for his deluminator to shut off the lights. Then, he turned, and it took her by surprise when he took the liberty of getting on top of her to continue their snogging session. She allowed it, but after a few seconds pulled back and took his face in her hands. "I'm happy to snog you, Ron. But that's as far as it's going."

"I know, Hermione. Blimey, just snogging you is amazing. I'm perfectly content. As long as you don't mind…" He gestured towards the area between his legs, which she could see was noticeably tenting out of his thin pajama bottoms.

"I've told you that I don't mind, Ron. You don't have to keep asking me."

"Right. Well, then I guess we can carry on." He grabbed her and started to kiss her again. She relaxed into the kiss. It was a lot easier to enjoy it now that the pressure was taken off. She could feel him against her thigh, but she was being honest when she told him that she didn't care. It was a natural reaction that boys had, and for the first time in her life she actually felt like a desirable woman.

After half an hour of furiously kissing, her lips were starting to get tired, though. She herself was just plain tired from the day. "Ron…" she began as he trailed sloppy kisses across her jaw.

"Yeah?"

"Maybe we should go to sleep. Not that I don't love doing this, but I'm a little tired."

He leaned back and smiled. "Yeah, I guess we do have to sleep sometime. Let me just go take care of this-" He stopped short and suddenly turned bright red. "Er, sorry. I didn't mean to say that."

"Take care of what? What are you going to- _oh_." Now it was her turn to be embarrassed.

"Sorry, Hermione. I'm sorry I said that."

"It's okay, Ron. So... um… you can't just let it… go down?"

"Well, I can. But it's more comfortable and easier if I just… ya know," he said while nervously rubbing the back of his neck.

"How do you do it?" She asked, at this point intrigued and a little turned on.

"How do I-? Bloody hell Hermione. You know how. I've seen you read about fifty anatomy books."

"That's not what I meant. I mean, how do you do it specifically? Like what atmosphere do you like to be in, what do you think of... "

Ron laughed, now apparently finding this all very funny. "Atmosphere? What does that have to do with it? As long as I'm alone I'm good, unless there's like, a picture of Umbridge in a bikini there or something."

"Oh… well it's just that for me I like it to be darker and quiet, and preferably lying down on a bed…"

Ron's eyes became as big and round as saucers. "For you? Are you saying that you…?"

She blushed. "Well yes, Ron. I am eighteen as well, you know. On occasion, I have indulged. It's a perfectly normal thing for a young woman to do."

"I'm not saying you're abnormal, I just... fucking hell. I never really thought much of girls doing it. Or you, for that matter. But now that I am I wish I would have a long time ago because that is really hot Hermione. As for who I think of, well, let's just say that you've been the star of my wanking fantasies since third year."

Her mouth opened in shock. She couldn't believe that he had just said that. But to be fair, anytime she had thought of a boy during it, it had been him. She decided that she would let him in on that knowledge. "I think about you, too. I always have."

A look of deep lust came into his eyes. "Bloody fucking… Merlin, Hermione. Did you ever...when we were in the tent?"

She blushed, but shook her head yes.

"While I was in it?"

She bit her lip and nodded again.

"Holy shite. That is so fucking hot." Then, he grabbed her again and was kissing her more aggressively than he ever had. He tilted his head down and began sucking on her neck. She knew that she would probably have bruises there in the morning.

"Ron, I don't think that this is going to help your problem. Maybe you should…" She nodded toward the door.

"Oh, right." He stood up, looking embarrassed.

"Ron, we can't be embarrassed with each other about these things if we're in a relationship. If we're going to be lovers, it's just something that will have to become normal to us. I'm certainly not bothered by it," Hermione said, trying to sound confident.

"Okay, well brilliant then. I'll be right back!" Then he turned and quickly exited the room.

She lay there on the bed, smiling to herself at how at ease she felt around Ron. Sure, this territory was new to them, but she had never shied away from a challenge before, and she wasn't about to start now. She had always wanted to be with Ron. Maybe if they had started things up when they were younger, then the topic of sex wouldn't have been approached so quickly. But, they were eighteen now. She was a woman and he was a man and they were in love. It was bound to happen. She supposed that she did want to take things a bit slowly; they hadn't done much else than snog. However, she did relate to what Ginny had said. In the grand scheme of things, did it really matter, after all they had been through?

A while later, Ron returned. He smiled at her and lifted the blanket, crawling in next to her. She automatically turned and cuddled up against his chest, and he wrapped an arm around her. Her head found it's favorite place above his heart, and she lay there, content to listen to the steady rhythm.

"Hermione?" Ron spoke up in the darkness.

"Yeah?"

"Thanks for everything you've been helping Ginny with, and how nice you've been to Mum. It's really been helping everyone out a lot."

"Ron, you don't need to thank me! I'm happy to do it. If there were anything more I could do, I would."

"I know, I just don't want you to feel burdened by my family when you've got some things that you are dealing with on your own," He said.

"Burdened? Ron, you have to know that I think of them as my family as well. Why, this morning Ginny and Fleur and I were saying that we are all sisters." She couldn't believe that Ron was thinking that it was a hardship for her to help his family.

"Okay Hermione. I just want you to be alright. If it gets to be too much, just tell me."

"I will Ron, but I'm telling you now that it will never be too much," she said with confidence.

He sighed and kissed the top of her head. "Alright, love. If you need anything during the night, just wake me."

"Oh! That reminds me. Hand me my wand." He looked confused, but did as she asked. She quickly cast a few silencing charms around the room. He looked at her again, now even more confused. "So if I wake up, no one will… hear me."

His features clouded over when he realized what she meant. "Alright. Don't worry about me though, yeah?"

"Or course Ron, I trust you with anything. If I need you and you don't wake up, I'll wake you. Good night. I love you."

"Love you too, Hermione."


	12. Chapter 12

_Pain. More pain than she had ever fathomed could be humanly possible to feel. It ripped through her entire body, tearing down every nerve. Every inch of her felt as if it were on fire, and like she had just hit the ground after being tossed off a cliff. She wanted to die. How was she not dead yet? This world was far more cruel than she had ever thought, if it were possible to feel this agony and not be afforded the release of death._

 _A voice, off in the distance. One she would know anywhere, even now, in her torment. Ron's voice, calling her, in anguish. He could hear her, then. Somehow, her pain worsened. He was being tortured as well. In a different way, but tortured all the same. Darkness came again. The room faded from view, and suddenly she knew that if she wanted death to claim her, she could let it now. Everything seemed so far away. She contemplated letting go. Then, Ron wouldn't have to hear her screams anymore. For a few precious moments before his own death, he could think that she was okay. But she was selfish. She couldn't let go as long as she could hear his voice. This was her last instant to be able to listen to the beautiful sound that was Ron Weasley. She wanted to stay in this horrid room at Malfoy Manor for a few more seconds, so she could hear him. Then she would go._

 _The pain receded, and her sight came back into view. Her blurry vision allowed for her to see Peter Pettigrew dragging Ron up the stairs by his hair._

 _"_ _What do you say, Greyback? How about we let you fuck the mudblood while Weasley watches? Let him see one more thing he couldn't have before we kill him," Bellatrix cackled maniacally._

 _"_ _NO! DON'T YOU DARE TOUCH HER! HERMIONE!" Ron struggled against his captur, breaking free and running toward her. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Bellatrix adopt what almost looked like a bored expression, and with a lazy flick of her wand and a muttered "Avada Kadavra" Ron was hit with a green flash. Their eyes were locked as she saw the light leave his and he toppled to the floor._

 _"_ _NO! KILL ME! PLEASE! KILL ME! KILL ME!" She shrieked at Bellatrix._

 _"_ _I don't think so, mudblood. In fact, we might just keep you around to be Greyback's little toy."_

 _She frantically searched around the room, and locked eyes with Draco Malfoy. "DRACO! KILL ME! PLEASE! I'M BEGGING YOU! PLEASE, DRACO! PLEASE! KILL ME!" Draco only smirked at her, before his mother grabbed him and quickly walked him from the room._

 _Greyback grabbed her, and she felt her shirt being ripped off. She tried to make eye contact with someone, anyone else in the room, but no one would look at her. "KILL ME! SOMEONE PLEASE! HAVE MERCY! KILL ME! KILL ME! KILL ME!"_

She felt a rush of water. Maybe someone had taken pity on her and done it. Was this what it felt like? She felt awfully wet. She tried to see if she could obtain any of her other senses. Maybe she could find Ron. Maybe he was here with her…

"Hermione!"

He was! He was here! She could be with her beloved Ron again! It felt so good to hear his voice.

"Hermione! Wake up! Wake up!"

Suddenly, Hermione sputtered and her eyes shot open. She saw what appeared to be a view of Ron's bedroom. She began to cough, and Ron took her into his arms. "There, there. That's it love. Breathe. I'm sorry, but I shot you with an _Aguamenti_. I was screaming and shaking you and you wouldn't wake up." Her body began to wrack with sobs. "It's okay, love. It's okay. I'm here. You're safe," Ron said in a soothing voice as he stroked her hair.

She was hysterically sobbing into Ron's shirt now. He continued to hold her for another few minutes until her loud wails were reduced to quiet shaky cries. She clung to him harder and found the spot above his heart that she loved. She pressed her ear against it as forcefully as she could, and started sobbing all over when she heard the beating.

"Oh, Ron! I th-thought, I thought th-that-" Her voice was shaking so much that she was unable to formulate a sentence. "Y-you were d-dead R-ron. She killed you."

"I'm here, love. I'm not going anywhere," he said in a comforting voice.

"I can't take this anymore, Ron. Sometimes I think that I'm going mad," she said quietly.

"You're not mad Hermione."

"I think I might be," she said in a small voice.

"No, you're not. You're the most brilliant person I know. I know I've said that you and Ginny are crazy before, but I didn't mean for real. I just meant in the way that women are barmy, you know? I didn't mean it that way."

"If I wasn't so upset right now, I might have the energy to be angry at that sexist comment."

"Sorry, love. Hey, do you want to talk about it? You really scared me Hermione. Were… were you screaming for her to kill you because of how much pain you were in?" Ron asked.

She gulped. "No...it was after… after she had killed you. I just wanted to be with you. And I knew that I was just going to be tortured more, and then they were giving me to Greyback, so…"

Ron scowled. "Hermione, I don't want to hear you say that you would want to die just if I were dead."

"But I would, Ron! I can't live in a world without you! And I know you feel the same way, so don't even try it!" She snapped back at him.

"That's different, Hermione. You…" He trailed off, then said quietly, "You can't possibly love me as much as I love you."

"Ron! This, again? I'm madly in love with you! I thought we had established that?"

"I know what you said, but you're everything to me Hermione. My existence doesn't matter if you're not with me. You… you're brilliant in your own right. You would be fine on your own. I'm nothing without you," he said solemnly

"I wouldn't be fine on my own! I can't be without you! Don't you understand?" She was desperate to make him see that he was worthy of her love.

"I'm never going to think that I deserve you, Hermione. Sometimes I can't believe that you even let me look at you after everything I've ever done, much less touch you. I'll spend forever trying to make it up to you, though. And as for Greyback, don't worry about another man, or anyone else for that matter, touching you ever again. I would kill someone before I let them hurt you. I wish Mum hadn't offed that bitch, so I could have done it myself with my bare hands." Ron now had a furious look in his eye.

"Don't say that, Ron. Don't wish that you could have killed someone."

"Why not? She wasn't a person, Hermione! Someone like that scum doesn't deserve the respect of a human being." He was shouting now. "What would it have mattered if I killed her? Killed a few death eaters myself, didn't I? What would one more be?"

"Ron, you're scaring me with how nonchalantly you're talking about this."

"Well, they sure as hell seemed nonchalant when they killed Fred, didn't they?" She didn't know how to respond. Ron sighed. "Look, Hermione, I'm sorry. If it bothers you I won't talk about it anymore. I just can't stand to see you like this. I want you to know that you have me to protect you, always."

"I know, Ron. I just wish you could see that I love you just as much as you love me."

He hugged her to his body again. "Never going to happen, love. I'll always love you more."

"Well, I guess we can just agree to disagree for the time being." She suddenly realized how soaking wet she was. "I can't tell what is from my tears and what's from your spell," she joked.

"Here, let me get that for you," Ron said as he hit them both with a drying spell.

Light was starting to flood into the room now. It must have been early morning. "Ron, do you mind if we just lay here until breakfast? I don't fancy going back to sleep."

"Sure thing, love. Just try to relax."

She took her place on Ron's chest again, and allowed herself to be filled with the serene calmness that came with watching the sunrise.


	13. Chapter 13

An hour later, Ron's room was fully lit. He had fallen back asleep, but she just lay there, content to be in his arms. Hermione supposed that she should get up though, and see what Ginny was doing. She slipped out of Ron's bed, careful not to wake him, and made her way downstairs. She stopped by the loo, and then made her way to Ginny's room. Hermione stopped short when she saw Ginny and Harry lying in Ginny's bed together, all cuddled up with the blankets wrapped securely around them. Harry must have somehow sensed her presence in the room, because suddenly he was up, grasping for his wand on the nightstand and drawing it at her. A looked of realization dawned in his eyes, and he quickly lowered it. "Oh, sorry Hermione."

"It's alright Harry, I understand." It seemed that everyone in the house had drawn their wand at her at some point in the past week.

Ginny began to stir. "Morning already, is it? Well, Harry, you better be off. Don't want any overprotective brothers catching you in here."

Harry jumped out of bed. "Good idea. See you down there." He turned and kissed Ginny on the cheek, and nodded to Hermione before he left the room.

Hermione just stood their staring at Ginny. The younger girl finally realized she was being stared at and grinned. "What, Hermione?"

"You know what, Ginny! What was he doing in here?"

"What, I can't have a bit of fun as well?"

"I'm not saying that, but it's awfully risky, Ginny. People are more likely to check on you, and I know it's a double standard but it would be a lot worse if you were caught in here with Harry than if Ron was caught upstairs with me."

"Harry and I can do _whateve_ r we damn well please," Ginny said suggestively.

"Oh. Did you two…?"

"No. Unfortunately. I told him we had to wait until I could talk to Fleur. Never seen the bloke so disappointed," she chuckled.

"Just be careful, Ginny. Please. We don't need anymore problems around here," Hermione pleaded.

"Relax, Hermione. It's fine. I'm not worried about it and neither is Harry. Well, that's a lie. He's a little worried about it. Last night when I was doing something particularly naughty to him, he couldn't stop himself from glancing at the door every five seconds, even though we locked and warded it. It was like he was afraid all of my brothers were about to burst into the room."

Hermione chuckled. She wondered what exactly Ginny meant by "naughty". She knew that Ginny and Harry were more experienced than her and Ron were. Hermione had some memories of Ginny returning from a night down by the lake with Harry, then filling Hermione in on what had happened in vivid detail as the two of them sat on her bed in the dormitory and flipped through copies of _Witch Weekly_. However, she wondered exactly how far their relationship had progressed in the past few weeks. "Ginny, when you say 'naughty', what do you mean?"

Ginny shot her with a wicked grin. "Why, Hermione, what makes you wonder that?"

"Come off it, Gin. If you don't want to tell me-"

"No. No, I'll tell you. I was just taking the piss. Well, we were snogging. Really snogging. Somehow he had managed to get my shirt and bra off, and he didn't have his shirt on either because he had only warn bottoms to bed. So anyway, you know that's as far as we had gone back at Hogwarts. But this time, it was like I couldn't control myself; I was moaning and whining. So then all of the sudden, he shoves his hand down my knickers, and starts touching me. He didn't really know what he was doing, but I helped him out and he picked it up pretty quick. You know, seeker's hands and all. Long story short, I got off, and then he was just lying there next to me, looking pretty proud of himself, but I realized that he was still hard and trying to hide it from me. I just kind of threw caution to the wind and decided to go for it, and next thing I know I'm kissing my way down his stomach and yanking his pants down. He tried telling me that I didn't have to do it a few times, you know how noble he is, but finally I threatened to _Bat-Bogey_ him and he shut up and let it happen. It was brilliant. Didn't taste as bad as I thought it would, and the look on his face afterwards… Merlin! That in and of itself was worth it."

"Wow, Gin! I can't believe you did that!" Hermione exclaimed.

Ginny shrugged. "Why not? I love him and I wanted to make him feel good. Also, I found that I quite like doing it. Who knows, maybe you'll enjoy it as well. That's why you asked me, isn't it? Because you're thinking of doing stuff with Ron?"

She blushed. "Well, yes. I want to, but I'm just nervous I suppose. I'm not used to doing something that I know nothing about. I was thinking about trying to look up some tips in _Witch Weekly_ , or there's this muggle magazine called _Cosmopolitan_..."

Ginny scoffed. "Trust me, you don't need to study anything, Hermione. Not for this. Just go with your instinct. I'm telling you, it's not difficult to get a bloke off, especially a teenage one. Even if you don't have an expert technique, first of all how would he know, and second of all I think he'll just be ecstatic that you're doing anything. Seriously. Harry seemed to be perfectly content with just looking at the view, to be honest. Kept grabbing my hair and pushing it back when it fell in front of my face. It was actually pretty funny."

Hermione laughed. "Yeah, okay. You're probably right. I'm probably over complicating things. Sometimes what makes Ron happy is so simple, that I find myself thinking that it should be more complicated. I guess it's not though, is it?"

"Nah. One track mind, blokes. It's a blessing and a curse."

Hermione laughed again. "Let's go downstairs, Fleur is probably awake by now."

"Yeah, good thinking," Ginny replied.

Fleur was in the kitchen as they had suspected. "Good morning, girls. I expect zat ze boys will not be up for a while. We can take our time." Hermione then realized that it was a Saturday morning.

"Okay, Fleur. I'll make some eggs. I have a hankering for them this morning. Hermione, why don't you get started on your world famous coffee? It's becoming quite renowned about the house, I must tell you," Ginny said. She nodded, and began her coffee making routine with a flick of her wand. The three women worked in quiet, nothing but the sound of the birds chirping outside and Fleur's gentle humming.

Harry was the first one to stroll into the room, a big smile on his face. He waltzed up to Ginny and wrapped an arm around her from behind, kissing the top of her head. She yelped and dropped the pan she had been holding. It clattered loudly as it hit the floor. "Harry! What the bloody hell were you thinking? Mum would have my hide if she knew I just dropped this," Ginny said, sounding annoyed.

"Sorry, love," Harry said with a shrug. "Just in a good mood, that's all."

Ginny lowered her voice. "Well get out of it, unless you want my whole family to suspect something. Just go sit at the table and wipe that stupid grin off your face." Harry looked put out, but followed her orders and took a seat at the table.

"Good morning, everyone." Even with her back turned, Hermione instantly recognized Ron's voice. She turned around with a smile and walked over to him, giving him a quick kiss. His hands rested on her hips, and he looked at her with a concerned face. "Why didn't you wake me before you left?"

"I thought you could use some sleep. I just wanted to get down here and help Ginny and Fleur. Breakfast is almost ready."

At the mention of food, Ron's eyes lit up. "Great! I'm starved," he said as he took a seat next to Harry.

Hermione finished brewing the coffee, and pointed her wand at the cabinet to make the mugs emerge and set themselves at the table. Just then, a third male decided to make his presence known in the kitchen. Bill Weasley strolled through the door, still dressed in his pajamas and looking tired. Fleur ran over to him immediately.

"Good morning, my love!" Fleur sang. "Why are you down 'ere? I told you to sleep in!"

Bill smiled down at Fleur and twirled a lock of her silver hair in his hand. "I'm fine love. Besides, I smelled the food and couldn't resist coming down. Although, maybe I should have changed…"

"Nonsense!" Fleur interjected. "It is your day off. Wear whatever you wish. Sit down, darling. Let me get you something. Oh, I 'ad 'oped you would be up later. I was going to make you zat meat you like."

"It's fine, love. I'll just have whatever you lovely ladies are making."

"Okay, darling," Fleur replied. She sat down in Bill's lap and summoned the sausage over to the table, then poked one with her fork and fed it to him.

"Damn, reckon you would do that for me Hermione?" Ron looked at her and wiggled his eyebrows. Before she could tell retaliate, Ginny casually walked by and slapped Ron soundly on the back of the head. "Ouch, Gin. What the fuck was that for?"

"For being an arse Ron, you're lucky that was all I did to you." Ron rubbed the back of his head a mumbled something about not getting any respect under his breath.

Fleur continued to sit on Bill's lap while he ate, randomly kissing his cheek and running her fingers through his hair. Bill ate with one hand and used the other to read the _Profit_. Ginny sat down next to Harry and summoned a plate over for each of them. Hermione took her lead and summoned a plate for her and Ron as well. Bill and Ron struck up a conversation about maybe going for a fly later in the day, while Harry contributed here and there. However, Hermione could see that he was having a hard time concentrating, and kept beaming at Ginny. Ron and Bill were oblivious of course, but she could tell that Fleur was also observing the interaction.

Percy entered the room, and everyone turned to greet him. He got a look in his eye that Hermione remembered from years ago. He used to look like that when he was about to give orders as prefect. "Attention, all: Father has convinced Mother to join us for breakfast. Let's all be calm and considerate of her delicate state at this time." Ron stifled a laugh and looked like he wanted to make a sarcastic comment back, but then thought better of it and nodded his head. Percy continued. "They'll be down in 10 to 15 minutes. Mother got upset and he just needs to calm her down." Percy sat down at the table.

"So, everyone. I was looking at the _Profit_ here, and it looks like they're allowing ads to run again. I was thinking, why don't we try to convince George to reopen the shop and then we could run an ad announcing it's reopening? I know it's a long shot, but we could go visit him today to see how he's doing," Bill said.

Percy brow furrowed. "Don't you think it's too soon, Bill?"

"No, I don't Perce. He's got to do it sometime. Why not sooner rather than later?" Bill answered.

"Well, I think it's a great idea. I would love to see George. I say we do it," Ginny said, speaking up.

"It's settled, then. Ginny and I will be visiting him today, and anyone who wants to join is more than welcome to come," Bill said in a tone that meant the decision was final.

Percy suddenly looked a bit pink in the face. "I would come, Bill, but… my schedule is occupied today."

Bill raised his eyebrows, and now even Ron and Harry were looking at him with interest. "What, got a hot date, do you?" Bill jibbed. Percey responded by getting even redder.

"Bloody hell! You do!" Ron shouted.

"Relax, Ronald. If you must know… yes. I have a date." Percey said.

"Perce! When were you going to let us in on this? Who is she? How long has this been going on?" Ginny inquired.

"Her name is Audrey. We've been seeing each other for a few months now."

"Bloody hell… well Perce, I reckon if you can get a bird, then there's hope for men out there everywhere," Bill joked. "Actually, I reckon if any of us blokes at this table can end up women as lovely as these, there's hope for men everywhere." He nodded to Fleur sitting on his lap, Ginny sitting next to Harry, and her and Ron.

"Damn right," Harry said, looking at Ginny lovingly.

Bill gave him a stern look. "Easy there, Potter. You just do well to remember how lucky you are."

Harry gave Bill a look as if he had been caught with his hand in the cookie jar. "Of course I will, Bill."

"See, I told you I'll never deserve you, Hermione," Ron said, as if Bill's little speech had proved his point.

"That's bloody well right Ron, and don't you forget it. You're too much of a git for Hermione. If you want to keep her, maybe you should give up being a git all together," Ginny said. Ron flashed Ginny a rude hand gesture.

"Good morning, everyone." They all looked up to see Mr. and Mrs. Weasley in the doorway. Arthur had his arm wrapped securely around Molly's shoulders. Her eyes were red and watery but other than that she had a smile on her face.

"Morning, Mum," all four of the Weasley siblings said in synchronization.

"Good morning, Maman," Fleur said. She had now taken to referring to Mrs. Weasley as her mother. Hermione remembered when Fleur had confided in her that Mrs. Weasley had asked her daughter-in-law to call her "Mum". Her eyes had shone with happiness, as if it was proof that she had finally been accepted into the family.

Mr. Weasley escorted Mrs. Weasley over to a seat, then sat down next to her. "So, what's everyone's plans for today? I was thinking about tinkering with some things in the shed, if any of you boys want to help me out…" Mr. Weasley began.

"Well, actually Dad, we were thinking about visiting George today," Bill said to his father.

"Splendid idea! Why don't we all go over around noon? What do you say, Molly?" Mr. Weasley asked.

Everyone turned in apprehension to Mrs. Weasley, unsure about what she would say to finally leaving the house. She looked uncertain for a few seconds, but then finally smiled. "Yes. I think that would be lovely. I should whip up some food to take him as well. My baby boy has been over there all by himself and probably hasn't had a decent meal in weeks."

"Oh, but just so you know, Mum, Percy won't be joining us," Ginny said to Mrs. Weasley, then gave Percy an evil grin.

"Percy, darling, why not? Is it something I've done? I know I haven't been up and about much lately, but-"

"No! Of course not, Mum! That would never be the reason." Percy gave Mrs. Weasley a kiss on the cheek and then turned to glare at Ginny. "What Ginevera here has so kindly pointed out is that I won't be accompanying you because I have a date this afternoon."

Mrs Weasley's eyes lit up. "A date? Oh, Percy! Who is she? Do I know the family? Where are you taking her? Some place nice, I hope. Is it serious, darling? Oh, this is just so exciting. Of course, if we're going to have a wedding it should be next summer, which would give me a whole year to plan this time…"

Percy looked extremely alarmed, while everyone else was watching the interaction in amusement. "Mother! It's only been a few months, please don't marry us off just yet. Her name is Audrey."

"Well, do invite her over for dinner sometime dear. I'd like to meet the woman who has captured my son's heart."

"Alright, Mum. I'll ask her today if she wants to come over sometime next week." Hermione noticed that Percy didn't object to Audrey having captured his heart.

"Well, now that we've established that Percy is as much of a lovesick bastard as every other man at this table, can we get ourselves ready to go to George's?" Bill joked.

"Bill, watch your language!" Mrs. Weasley snapped.

"Sorry, Mum." Hermione had to bite back a giggle at how Bill cowered to Mrs. Weasley.

"And every man at the table, whatever do you mean…?" Mrs. Weasley's eyes flitted around the table, and came to rest on her and Ron's intertwined hands. A smile it up her face. "Oh, Ron! Is it true?"

"Erm… yeah Mum," Ron said with a blush.

"Oh, I just knew this day would come! I always knew you fancied her, Ronnie. A mother knows these things. How simply marvelous! Oh Hermione dear, I couldn't have picked anyone better for him, really I couldn't have. To think, I'll have another wonderful daughter-in-law!"

"MUM! I'm only eighteen, and now you're marrying me off too?" Ron interjected. He glanced at Hermione. "Well, I mean, that is to say, it's not that I wouldn't want to, I mean, eventually I see, well, if that were to happen, it would be brilliant, I'm not saying I don't want it of course…"

Hermione decided that she would take pity on Ron and save him from his giggling siblings. He had already given them more than enough material to take the piss about later. "Thank you, Mrs. Weasley. That means a lot," she said. Mrs. Weasley smiled at her.

"Oi, Mum! Ginny and Harry are together. Why don't you harass them for a bit?" Ron said.

Mrs. Weasley glanced at Harry and Ginny. "How splendid. Back together, then, dears? I figured as much. I know how much my Ginny cares for you, Harry."

Ron gaped. "That's all!? You're not going to start planning their wedding or baby shower or something equally embarrassing?"

"Don't be ridiculous, Ronald. I knew that Harry and Ginny were together last year at Hogwarts. This isn't as much of a surprise for me as you and Hermione. My Ronnie, with the brightest witch of her age!" Mrs. Weasley exclaimed.

"Mum!" Ron was bright red now.

"Although," Mrs. Weasley said, glancing at Harry and Ginny, "If I do start planning something for you two, you will do well to remember that it better be a wedding first, then a baby shower."

"Mum!" Now it was Ginny's turn to turn red. Harry looked down at the floor. Ron smiled in triumph.

"See? That's all I was asking for," Ron said with a grin.

"And you as well, Ronald. Bill has started things off with a good example for the rest of you. No children or shacking up before marriage. I don't want to see any grandchildren until you are all married, then you can give me as many as you wish," Mrs. Weasley informed all of them as she casually turned and eyed Fleur's flat stomach.

Bill saw where her gaze was and groaned. "Mum, not this again…"

"What, Bill?"

"Enough with wanting Fleur to get pregnant…"

"But I do want her to get pregnant, dear."

"Well, be a little less obvious about it, please."

"Oh, nonsense. When your father and I were married for the same amount of time as you and Fleur you were already born. Fleur dear, I do have some magical remedies to make you more fertile, I can show you some later today."

Fleur looked alarmed. "Sure zing, Maman."

"Great, I'll go prepare for George's then," Mrs. Weasley said and exited the room.

"What the bloody fucking…" Ron began, but cut himself short when Mr. Weasley gave him a stern look.

"Don't put too much value into some of the things your mother is saying, kids. She's just been capitalizing on things that make her happy."

"But, Dad, she's got to leave poor Fleur alone with this baby business."

"To be fair, son, she has been saying these things to Fleur pretty much since the day you two got married."

"William, et is fine. Let 'er 'ave 'ropes. I don't mind. It seems to be making 'er 'appy. We 'ave the final say on if and when zere will be a baby." Fleur said.

Bill looked unsure. "Alright, love. I just don't want any unnecessary stress to be added on you."

"I reckon Fleur's right Bill," Ron interjected. "It's just Mum trying to be happy. And to be fair to Mum, it does seem like you two are putting in an awful lot of practice time, if what I heard last night when I walked by your room was any indication," Ron said with a smirk.

Now both Ginny and Hermione smacked him on the back of the head. "Ron!" Hermione gasped.

Bill just took it in stride, though. "Just you wait, Ron. Soon it will be her pestering you and Hermione about this. Then you won't be finding it to be so funny." That shut Ron up immediately.

"Enough, boys. Those going to George's, let's all meet at the fire place at noon." With that, Mr. Weasley ended the spat.

Hermione couldn't help but wonder what would await them when they arrived.

* * *

A _uthor's note: Ah, love is in the air, is it not? I can't get enough of the idea that once the war was over, they would finally have a chance to be teenagers. Also, I love that good old Weasley banter, don't you?_


	14. Chapter 14

_Author's note: So here it is. We get to see George for the first time. It was extremely hard for me to write this chapter; I rewrote it many times. It made me so sad._

* * *

"Everyone ready?" Mr. Weasley asked as his pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose. He was met with a chorus of "Yeah Dad" and "Yes, Mr. Weasley".

He nodded. "Good. We'll see you on the other side, then. Do be sure to say the name clearly, we don't want any of you ending up in a random shop in Diagon Alley." He put his arm around Mrs. Weasley, who was balancing an assortment of food for George in her arms. Grabbing some floo powder, he tossed it into the fire and clearly shouted "WEASLEYS' WIZARD WHEEZES". The Weasley's stepped into the fireplace and were gone.

"You and Ginny are next, Harry. I don't want to take any chances of you two conveniently being the last one's here on your own." Bill said. Hermione rolled her eyes when she saw Ron vehemently nodding his head in agreement.

"Please, like that would be able to stop us," Ginny taunted.

"Just get in the fireplace, Gin," Bill growled.

Harry looked anxious. "Yeah, Ginny. Let's go. You want to see George, right?"

Ginny looked like she wanted to continue her argument with Bill, but then thought better of it. "Fine. Let's go Harry. We'll have first dibs on the storage room. Pretty roomy in there, wouldn't you say? Definitely enough space to conjure a bed." She shot Bill a nasty look, then grabbed a terrified looking Harry's hand. Shouting their destination, they jumped into the fireplace and disappeared.

"Who does she think she is, saying that to me?" Bill asked.

"Oh hush, William. Let's get going," Fleur spoke. Then, the two younger married Weasley's were gone as well.

Hermione made to grab for some floo powder, but suddenly felt Ron's hand on her shoulder. She turned around, half expecting him to take advantage of the empty house and try to kiss her. Instead, she was surprised to see that he had tears in his eyes. "Ron? What's wrong?" She asked in alarm.

"I can't go, Hermione."

"What do you mean, you can't go? We have to meet your family. They'll be wondering where we are."

Ron's face crumpled. "But that's just the thing, isn't it? It's not my family. Not really, anymore. My family pops over to Wheezes on a Saturday to visit Fred and George. I deal with it when they take the mickey over me fancying you but not doing anything about it, and then maybe they take pity on me and give me a few puking pastilles for free. This is just… my family doesn't have a trip centered around visiting the twin of my murdered brother to see how he's doing and bring him some food, which I know is just code for make sure he hasn't killed himself yet."

Hermione's heart sank. "Ron, it is your family. It's different now, but you guys are still the Weasley's. I know that you're broken, but that doesn't mean you're not a family anymore. You need each other now more than ever."

"I don't think that I can do this, Hermione. I can't see him. I know that it's only been a few weeks, but what if he looks older?"

"Older? Why would it matter if he looked older? Not that I think he would, as you said he was here a few weeks ago…"

"Because," Ron's voice cracked, and he started over. "Because, I'm dreading it. I'm dreading watching him age, knowing that's what Fred would have looked like. Right now, they're both twenty, but what happens next year? Or ten years from now? Fred will always be twenty years old. Looking at George will just be a reminder of what Fred never got to experience. Some brother I am, right? I don't even want to be around George because he reminds me too much of Fred. Imagine how George must feel every time he looks in a mirror."

It was hurting her to see Ron in this much torment. "I'm so sorry Ron. I don't know what to say, other than I'll always be there to help you through it."

"I know, Hermione. And that's what gets me through most days. I just don't think I can do this today."

"I know you don't want to, but you have to. And I know for a fact that you can," she said with certainty.

"Why? Why do I have to? Think anyone will notice if Ickle Ronniekins doesn't show? It's probably better off if we don't go, anyway. Less people for him to deal with."

"Ron! Of course they're going to notice if you don't show! Don't you see that how much you mean to all of them? You're a hero in their eyes. I've seen the way that Bill has been looking at you. He's gained a new respect for you, Ron. You're the glue that's holding this family together."

Ron's eyes lit up at the mention of his eldest brother. "You really think Bill is proud of me?"

"I know he is. So is everyone else. Everyone loves you so much, Ron. I wish you could see that."

"Well, I know they love me in the way that you have to love your family…"

"No! It's not an obligation! You mean the world to them, Ron. I know. Don't you see how devastated your parents are about Fred? They would have been equally devastated if something had happened to you. You're their son as well. All of your older brothers look up to you now, Ron. And Ginny… I know you think that she just likes to take the mickey with you, but she loves you so much Ron. You should hear the way she talks about you. You're her big brother."

Ron's eyes softened. "Well, I guess I knew that. I just feel like the odd one out sometimes, you know? Baby brother complex and all that. Gin's close to my age, but she's a girl, which it what Mum wanted in the first place. The uh… the locket didn't really help with how I thought about that."

Hermione was curious to learn a bit more about his experience with the locket; until now he hadn't spoken a word about it. However, they had already wasted a lot of time, and the others were probably starting to get worried. "It's okay, love. You don't have to tell me about it right now. You can tell me another time."

Ron looked relieved. "Alright. I guess you're right as always though, Hermione. We really should go."

Hermione smiled. "Don't worry, Ron. I'll be right there next to you."

"I know, that's what I'm counting on," Ron said, and with a with a toss of powder and a quick "WEASLEYS' WIZARD WHEEZES", they were spinning through the floo network.

The first thing that she noticed upon making her way into the small living room of George's flat was that it was much darker than she remembered. Grant it, she had only been to the twins' flat once last summer when Fred and George had invited her and Ron over for a butterbeer, then not so subtly informed them that they forgot to do some inventory and left her and Ron alone in the flat with a wink. She smiled at the memory. Ron's face had grown beet red, and the two of them had pulled out a chess set and played in relative silence until the twins returned an hour later. She had remembered the disapproving glares the twins had given Ron when they returned to find the two of them sitting in quiet on opposite ends of the sofa. In the back of her head she had known what they were doing, but thinking about it now it was amusing how even then the twins had been supporters for her and Ron to get together.

That had been last year, though. Their living room had allowed for the sun to stream in through the windows, as their newest inventions whizzed around the room or bubbled in pots on the stove. Hermione had distinctly remembered it as being one of the happiest homes she had ever seen. The fact that Fred and George, who had come from no money at all, had built their home from the ground up seemed to add to the beauty of it all. Now, however, the little room was dark and dreary. The shades were sealed shut, and there was a distinctly foul smell in the air.

Harry, Ginny, Fleur, and Bill were all crammed around the little table in the kitchen, murmuring to each other. They looked up when Hermione and Ron approached. "How is he?" Hermione asked, almost not wanting to know the answer.

"Not good," Ginny replied. "When we got here he was sitting on the sofa, drinking. Took one look at all of us and made off for their… I mean… his room."

Suddenly, George stumbled into the room, quickly followed by Mr. and Mrs. Weasley. Hermione slapped her hand against her mouth to keep from gasping in shock. He looked… well, dreadful. His cheeks were sunken in, as if he hadn't eaten in weeks. If he hadn't eaten in weeks, he must have certainly been making up for it in drinking. His nose was bright red and his eyes bloodshot. Hermione surveyed the room with scrutiny for the first time and noticed it was littered with empty fire whiskey bottles. She had never seen either of the twins with a beard before; they had said it was to keep up with appearances and look professional. However, George was now sporting a scraggly ginger beard, and by the looks of it he hadn't shaved or trimmed it since the day his twin had died. Ron was right. He did look older. He had the beginnings of wrinkles around his young eyes and frown lines around his mouth.

"George, please," Mrs. Weasley was frantically whispering. "Please, sweetheart, come home. We can help you."

George whipped around to face his mother, his speech slurring. "No one can help me."

Mrs. Weasley started to cry. "Please, George. Please. We can. I promise. I know that I haven't been of much help lately, but I'm going to do everything I can now. I can't stand to see you like this, my dear boy." She reached for George, but to Hermione's shock, George pushed her away, more forcefully than he had probably intended to. She stumbled back a few feet and landed on the floor.

Mr. Weasley bent down to help Mrs. Weasley, and Bill and Ron were on their feet in a flash. "Oi! George! What the fuck is wrong with you? Don't fucking push Mum like that!" Ron yelled at his brother.

George turned and fixed his eyes on Ron. "What's wrong with me, you ask, little brother? I've lost my brother and best friend, and none of you can understand what that's like. So please do me a favor and get the fuck out of our flat."

"George, I'm so sorry, but he was our brother too. And nothing gives you an excuse to touch Mum like that," Bill growled.

"No! Bill! Don't yell at him! It's fine, Georgie! I'm fine. Let's just forget about it and you can come home with us!" Mrs. Weasley said as she began to shakily dust herself off.

George rounded on Bill, now. "Oh, the gang's all here, then? Here's perfect big brother Bill, come to save the day, with his perfect wife in tow."

Bill didn't react. He just continued. "George, let's get you out of here. Come home for a few days. We can clean up the flat for you, and stock up the shop again."

"No!" George screamed. "Don't fucking touch anything in here! I need to leave everything exactly the way he left it!"

Bill's features softened. "George, it will be good for you. You can't live like this."

George scowled. "I can't live at all, not anymore, big brother. I want to be with him anyway, been thinking about drinking myself to death, you know." George must have been far more intoxicated than Hermione had originally thought, because now he was letting his inhibitions go. He began to stumble about the room. He banged into a wall and turned and hit it, punching a hole right through it. Mrs. Weasley and Fleur screamed.

"George, son, please just sit down." Mr. Weasley spoke up, and repaired the wall with a wave of his wand.

George kept walking and tripped, falling right into Bill and Ron's outstretched arms. "It's okay, we got you mate," Ron said. They carefully walked their brother to the sofa, and set him down. "Easy does it, there you go." Hermione knew Ron was trying his best to be supportive.

"Haha, fuck you Ron," George said with a giggle. "I see you finally bagged Granger over there. We had a bet going to see when you would finally grow some bollocks. I guess I owe Fred-" He cut himself off, and then to Hermione's surprise, tears started to fall from his eyes. It was a strange thing; to see someone who was once so full of joy and thrived on all of the wonderful things in life to be so suddenly and drastically reduced to the shell of a man that sat before her.

Mrs. Weasley was at his side at once. "Oh, Georgie," she crooned as she wrapped her arms around him and stroked his tangled hair. "How about you go lay down for a while? I'll stay and make you some tea and straighten things up a bit. Good heavens, we shouldn't have left you alone for this long. You're still my baby boy."

"I'm not a baby Mum, I'm an adult. I'm fine," George mumbled into his mother's shoulder.

"Nonsense! You'll always be my baby. Now come along, love. Let's get you into bed. And when you wake up, you're coming back with us." George merely nodded his head. Mrs. Weasley stood up with her arms still around his shoulders. He was at least a good head taller than her, but in that moment it seemed as though the weight of George's sorrows rested on his mother, and that she was happy to burden them for him. "That's it darling. I'll walk you back to your bed." They disappeared around the corner.

Mr. Weasley interrupted the silence. "Alright, everyone. Let's give George some space, shall we? Your mother and I will stay up here with him and then bring him back home later. Why don't you kids go downstairs and check out what kind of shape the shop is in?"

"Actually, Fleur and I think we'll go home for a few hours, Dad. We want to check on the cottage," Bill said.

"Alright, kids. See you later, then," Mr. Weasley replied as Bill and Fleur disappeared into the fireplace.

Hermione heard George in the next room crying in earnest now. Mrs. Weasley could be heard cooing and comforting him in a soothing voice.

"Alright, yeah. Let's go downstairs for a while," Ron said, clearly overwhelmed about the fact that his big brother was sobbing in the next room.

She took his hand, and with Ginny and Harry in pursuit, they made their way out of the cavern of sadness that had evidently become George's new world.

* * *

 _Author's note: Once again, Ron's insecurites come into play and Hermione needs to reassure him that he is in fact important and loved. My heart breaks for George, really. I wanted to portray him as being completley out of character and lost now that he doesn't have his other half._


	15. Chapter 15

The shop looked pretty much how Hermione had remembered it, although it was dusty and littered with cobwebs. She heard Ron anxiously mutter something about there being spiders where there are cobwebs as he hesitantly tiptoed around the floor. Ginny turned to check on the stock room, motioning Hermione to follow her. They entered the room and Ginny turned to her. "Hey, listen. Let's have a little fun. George won't be up and about for a while. Let's go shopping. I want to go to Madam Malkin's and get a little something for Harry and I. What do you say?"

Hermione pondered this. In all honestly, a girl's shopping trip did sound like a lot of fun. "Okay, Ginny. Yeah! I'm in. It will be fun."

"Okay, let's go tell Mum we're going, then-"

"Absolutely not." Hermione turned around to see Ron standing in the doorway, his arms crossed and a stern look on his face. Harry stood behind him.

"Excuse me, Ronald?" Ginny snarled.

"You hear what I said. You two aren't going out there by yourselves."

"Did I just hear that correctly? You think you can tell me what to do, now?!" Ginny screeched.

"You know what, Gin? I reckon I can. I'm your older brother and Hermione is my girlfriend, and I don't want the two of you out there by yourselves. We're still in dangerous times. Do you know what some Voldemort sympathizers would do to you if they found the two of you? It's not safe for women out there, Ginny. Especially for two women who had a big hand in taking him down."

"Well, I've not some news for you. We're going to do whatever we want, and if you say some shit like that to me again I'll fucking hex you into next week." Ginny voice was eerily quiet, and she began to reach for her wand. "If you think for one second that just because we're women you can tell us what to do I can fix that train of thought for you real quick, Ronald. In fact, I'd be happy to."

Ron sighed. "Ginny, please. You have to see that I'm right." Ginny made to walk out the front door of the shop and Hermione turned to follow her. "Hermione, no," Ron said and grabbed her arm.

"Ron! You can't tell me what to do!" She admonished.

"I know, Hermione. But please listen to me. I'm your boyfriend and I don't want you out there alone."

Ginny seemed to have had enough. "You're just being a control freak, Ron. Harry doesn't care, do you Harry?"

Harry looked at Ginny for a few seconds, then sighed. "I'm sorry, Gin. But I have to side with Ron on this one. I don't want you out there, either."

Ginny's eyes narrowed and her face grew red. "Excuse me?"

Harry sighed again. "It's not safe. I can't in good conscience let the two of you wander around out there. Come on, you guys. You're not being fair. Do you think that Bill would let Fleur out there alone, or your dad would let your mum?"

"Well, Harry, I don't really think that's a relevant question, seeing as neither of them own their respective wives. I dare say Fleur and Mum can do whatever the hell they damn well please. Fleur was here by herself the other day," Ginny spat.

Hermione knew that this argument was going nowhere good. She saw where the boys were coming from, and if they were uncomfortable with her and Ginny being out there by themselves she supposed that they could compromise. "How about this? You boys can walk us around, and when we get to a shop we want to look at we can go in and you wait on a bench outside. I doubt you'll want to go in, anyway."

"Fine," Ron said. "But be alert at all times. For all we know there's some creep waiting in the witch's department of Madam Malkin's just waiting to snatch up two girls."

"Alright, Ginny?" Hermione asked.

Ginny look annoyed but finally gave in. "Fine!"

They made for the front door of the shop, and walked out into the street. It looked like Diagon Alley, but eerier than she remembered. People roamed about the streets, but with cautious looks on their faces. Parents clutched their children close. Many of the shops were boarded up, most of them having belonged to muggle-born shop owners. Graffiti littered the boards with death threats and the word **MUDBLOOD** spelled over and over again in big bold letters.

Ron put his arm around her and held her close, and she looked over to see Harry doing the same to Ginny. They walked along the street for a while before stopping in front of Madam Malkin's. "Okay, we'll be going in here now," Ginny informed them.

Ron looked uncertain. "Alright… but stay alert. We'll be right out here. I don't see why you don't want us to come in…"

"Because, Ronald. Hermione is my friend and we want to shop together without you two blokes breathing down our necks. Now just be a good boy and wait here for us to come out, for crying out loud."

The two girls turned and ventured into the store. It looked exactly like Hermione had remembered it. However, Ginny turned and walked up a flight of stairs that Hermione had never ventured up before, having only ever come in here for school robes. They reached the top of the steps, and Hermione was greeted to the sight of what looked very similar to the muggle store Victoria's Secret that she had gone to with her mum a few times. Women's apparel, from pettie coats to some very skimpy lingerie from the looks of it, lined the walls.

"Ginny! I never even knew this was up here!" Hermione exclaimed.

"What? Oh, yeah. I've been up here a few times with Fleur. Bill is one lucky man, let me tell you."

"So, when you said you wanted to get a little something for you and Harry?"

"Right! Come along, this way." Ginny grabbed her hand and led Hermione around the corner. She was greeted to a sight of every type of undergarment possibly imaginable. "I was thinking, some type of slip with a pair of matching bra and panties. What do you think? What are you going to get?" Ginny asked her.

"Well, I guess it wouldn't hurt to buy a few new pairs of underwear," Hermione said as she ventured over to the aisle stocked with sensible cotton knickers.

Ginny snatched her hand and pulled her back. "Hermione, no! We came here to get lacy and skimpy things! Not boring old cotton knickers. Come on! We're grown women, now!"

"There's nothing wrong with being sensible, Ginny."

"I know. And if you really do feel the need to get a few sensible pairs that's fine. But I'm not letting you leave here without buying something that is going to make Ron jump you the second he sees you. I know he's my brother, but you're my best girlfriend and this is the kind of stuff girlfriends do. I know I've been getting on him lately but I really do love the two of you together. I think it's sweet."

Hermione still wasn't sure. "I don't know Ginny. I'm not sexy…"

"Nonsense! You're hot, Hermione! You've just got to start thinking it. Here, why don't you try this on?" She held up what appeared to be a few strips of lacy black fabric, but upon further inspection Hermione saw that it was intended to be a corset.

"No! I could never wear that! It's too revealing," Hermione said, appalled.

"Isn't that sort of the point, though? You're going to be wearing even less than this in front of him eventually. Why don't you get a few pairs of these matching sets of bras and knickers as well? Get some satin and some lace, that's what Fleur usually does."

"Okay… I guess it wouldn't hurt…"

"Good. Now, I think I'll be trying these on." Ginny grabbed a few ensembles, each more revealing and intricate than the next.

Hermione chuckled, and began to search for some pieces of her own, not picking anything that she was too uncomfortable with.

"Alright, Hermione, come in here and tell me what you think!" Ginny called to her from the other side of the door. Hermione opened the door, and gasped. Ginny looked absolutely breathtaking. The deep red lingerie she was wearing hugged her curves in all the right places, and perfectly matched her long flowing hair.

Ginny bit her lip and for the first time looked unsure. "What do you think? Too much? Do you think he'll like it?"

"Ginny! You look gorgeous! Do you even have to ask if he'll like it? I think this might be the thing that actually manages to kill him!"

Ginny giggled. "Well, I'm not looking to take it that far, but if he faints or something that would be fine. Okay, so this is a winner. Let me try some of the other stuff on."

The girls spent another half hour in the shop. Hermione even tried a few things on, and with Ginny's encouragement, was persuaded to buy them. It felt so great to just be able to shop with a girlfriend, oohing and ahing as they modeled outfits for each other. Hermione found herself marveling at how wonderfully normal it all was.

They made their purchases, and joined the boys again outside. "Everything, alright?" Ron asked. "We were just about to come in there."

"Yes, Ron. Everything was fine," she answered.

"Good, are you guys done, then? It's getting dark and I don't fancy the idea of being out here at night," Harry said.

"Alright, love. We can go," Ginny said in exasperation.

Ron and Harry made a move to grab the bags and carry them for their girlfriends, raising their eyebrows when both of the girls were hesitant to hand them over. "You don't need to carry this for me, Ron. I'm perfectly capable of carrying my own bag," Hermione said.

"I know love, but humor me. I'm trying to be a gentleman here."

"Yeah, Gin. Let me carry that for you," Harry said, nodding his head in agreement.

"Alright, fine. But no peeking," Ginny answered. Harry, as oblivious as ever, just nodded his head and happily grabbed the bag from her. Hermione suppressed a giggle. If only he knew just what awaited for him later.

Ron grabbed her bag as well with a roll of his eyes. "Don't worry, Gin. I think I speak for both of us when I say we could care less about what clothes you girls bought in there."

The girls exchanged a smirk, but let the matter drop as their boyfriends put an arm around their shoulders and walked them back to George's shop.

* * *

 _Author's note: Ah, I just love oblivious Ron and Harry, don't you? Props to the two of them for being pretty oblivious when it comes to women and still managing to be with such intelligent and beautiful witches. They do have hearts of gold, though. I felt the need to let Hermione and Ginny let loose and have a little fun. Also, Ginny is sort of managing two buddiing relationships right now: her romantic one with Harry and her friendship with Hermione. She's never had a sister before so the whole "doing girly things" thing is knew to her and she's trying to embrace it._


	16. Chapter 16

Later that night, she found herself surreptitiously swapping rooms with Harry. George's return meant that Harry had been kicked back into Ron's room. He would have taken Bill's, but Bill and Fleur were still unofficially living at the burrow. Although, Hermione thought with a smirk, so much for just 'checking on the cottage'. The two of them had been gone all day and Hermione suspected that they wouldn't be back until the next morning.

Ron greeted her at his doorway with a smile. She smiled back and allowed herself to reach up and run her fingers through his freshly cut hair.

"You still love me, don't you?" He joked, pointing to his hair. "Mum finally got me." She was momentarily taken aback by how much younger he looked with his long scraggly locks cut and his face cleanly shaved.

"Of course I still love you," she replied. "You look so young…."

"Well, reckon I am, aren't I?

"Well, yes. It's just that with everything we've been through, I don't really think of us as being teenagers."

"Well, start thinking that way, love. We are teenagers, and I say it's high time we start acting like it." With that, he grabbed her underneath her bum and hoisted her up, carrying her over to his bed and throwing her down onto it. Then with a laugh he jumped on top of her, and she let out a high pitched giggle. Oh, how good it felt to be young and in love.

They started snogging, and Ron wasted no time in grabbing any area of her body that he must have thought wouldn't earn him a slap. She wrapped her legs around his waist and sighed into his kisses. Then, his hand did something that it hadn't before. He began to tentatively creep it up her shirt, as if waiting for Hermione to throw him off of her. She found that she quite liked the feeling of Ron's hands on her bare skin. They were so much bigger and rougher than her own; manlier. When she did nothing except moan and arch herself into his touch, he must have taken it as a sign to continue. His hand continued its journey, and she felt him gently caressing the very bottom of her breast. She knew what he was about to do, and she wanted it; she was just a bit nervous. He didn't seem to know if he should go any further. She couldn't take his timidness anymore; the wait was making her anxious. With more confidence than she felt, she snaked her hand under her shirt as well and grabbed his hand, putting it firmly on top of her whole breast. He gasped, and looked into her eyes.

"Is this okay?"

"Yeah, as long as it's okay for you."

"Are you kidding me? This is bloody brilliant." His other hand joined the first one under her shirt, and soon he was kneading her breasts lustily. His thumbs found her nipples and began to rub them in circles, and she gasped. He looked up at her in concern. "Are you okay? Did I hurt you?"

"No, Ron! Keep going!" He smiled and continued. He was feeling her entire upper body now; running his hands down along her sides and up her back, then coming back to rest on her breasts again. He was thrusting into her in time with his kneading. She peppered little kisses down the side of his jaw, and he moaned and reached for the bottom of her shirt, clearly making an attempt to yank it off. Hermione's eyes widened and her hand darted to his in a reflex to stop him. Suddenly, he realized what he had tried to do.

"Fuck! Hermione, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have done that without asking you."

She considered what her next move would be. Her body definitely wanted it, and her mind as well. All except for the little part of her that was self conscious about her breasts and her scars and the rejection she would have to face if Ron didn't like what he saw.

"No… it's okay. I'm ready to take our physical relationship to the next level. I just… I'm self conscious." She decided that she would be honest.

"What?!" Ron looked thoroughly confused. "Why? You're fucking gorgeous, Hermione."

"But Ron! You've only ever seen me with clothes on. I'm not very attractive when I'm naked. My breasts were never even that big to begin with, and not eating well for the past year has made them get even smaller. I have scars all over. Have you ever noticed that I never wear anything low cut? Part of it is because of modestly, but mostly because of Dolohov's curse. There's still a mark right across my chest from it. I've tried all sorts of remedies, but I don't think it's ever going to go away." Her eyes were beginning to fill with tears. "I know that I don't come off as caring about something as trivial as looks, but I am still a girl, you know, and it makes me feel ugly."

Ron stared at her for a second, then got a determined look on his face. "Hermione, you're gorgeous. Don't ever let anyone make you think anything different. As for your breasts, I haven't seen them but I can tell you they are perfect, because they're yours. And as for the scars, I don't care. I mean, I care about what you went through to get them, but they won't make me think you're any less attractive. Fuck Dolohov. He can fucking rot in hell. So can anyone else who did that shit to you. I have some too, you know." He took off his shirt and began to point out various scars covering his chest and arms. "These here are obviously from those fucking brains. Here's where I got hit with a curse during the battle, this here a burn from that Fiendfyre…"

"I know what you're saying, Ron. But I just think those make you look manly. I know this is ridiculous and girly and vain, but I just want to be pretty for you. I want you to find me attractive."

"I do find you attractive! You don't have to take your shirt off, Hermione. But I'm telling you right now that if you did I would barely be able to contain myself."

She looked at him with uncertain eyes. "Alright… but don't say I didn't warn you…"

She grabbed the bottom of her shirt to lift it over her head, and when Ron realized what she was about to do his eyes lit up like it was Christmas morning. She flung it off quickly, partly to do it before her nerves got to her and partly because she really wanted to see his first reaction.

His eyes snapped down to her chest, and he stared unabashedly at her. She fought the urge to cover herself with her hands. Oh god, he could see the ugly slashing mark between her breasts where that horrible curse had hit her. Her hands rose and she covered herself, unable to take his silence anymore. "I told you…" she said in a small voice, looking away in shame.

Ron blinked, as if her hands covering her breasts had broke him out of a trance. "Hermione. I'll say it again: you're fucking gorgeous. Now, let's stop this nonsense." He brought his own hands up to grab hers and push them out of the way. "Much better," he said with a grin, and proceeded to cup them in his hands. She couldn't resist moaning. "Damn it, Hermione. Do you have any idea what you're doing to me?" She responded by deciding to just go for it and threw herself at him. Their bare chests smacked together and they both gasped. It felt so good; the feeling of her bare breasts crushed against his equally bare and hard chest. She felt like a woman. She rubbed herself against him sensually and he groaned, hugging her closer to him and pushing her flat on her back against the bed. They kissed each other hungrily while rolling around on top of the mattress, seemingly unable to get enough of one another. Ron was groaning and muttering.

"Damn it, Hermione… so fucking soft… can't believe you're mine...your tits are fucking brilliant."

"Language, Ron," she said cheekily. It felt incredible to be this close to him. She could feel both of their hearts rattling around in their chests, in time with their short breaths and gasps.

He stopped and looked into her eyes, then to her exposed torso. "What, love? I believe you do have tits, and that they are fucking brilliant. It's a fact you can't deny. I also reckon I'm the luckiest fucking sod who ever lived because now I can do this" he palmed her breasts in his hands, "whenever I want."

"Well…" She pretended to be pondering something, all while marveling in the fact that Ron's hands were on her naked body. "I guess I can let it slide, just this once."

"Much appreciated, love. Now where were we?" Ron bent his head down and took her nipple into his mouth, and she gasped at the new sensation. He looked up from where his mouth was latched onto her. "Too much?"

"No, please continue." He alternated his attention between her breasts licking and sucking as he went. "God, Ron! That feels bloody fantastic!"

Ron looked up from what he was doing and smirked. "Language, Hermione."

"Oh honestly, Ron."

He smirked again, and resumed his task. It all felt too good. His body pressed against hers, their exposed chests sliding against each other, slick from their sweat. His mouth on her. The delicate yet aggressive way he was touching her. The loving look in his eyes. He turned them so that he was on his back and she was on top of him, and in that moment her body wanted nothing more than to rip his pants off along with her own, straddle him, and allow herself to feel the hardness that she felt against her thigh inside of her instead. Her mind however, was telling her that this had been a big step for her and probably should be all that they did tonight. Their kissing was naturally slowing down and soon they were cuddled up against each other, lazily pressing kisses on each other's cheeks.

"I can't believe that you're my girlfriend," Ron said quietly into the darkness.

"Well, believe it," Hermione joked.

He turned to look at her. "No, I'm serious Hermione. You're so beautiful. And smart. And kind. And brave. I can't fucking believe that you're lying here with me right now and letting me touch you."

"Well, fucking believe it." She decided that a bit of profanity might make him see the light.

His eyes widened. "Hermione, you just swore!"

"Well, that's how serious I am about getting you to believe it. I want you, Ron. I'm very attracted to you, you know."

"Another mystery that I'll never solve: why the most brilliant and beautiful witch to ever live wants to shag a lanky freckled ginger git like me."

"I love your freckles and your ginger hair. And you are not lanky. You're actually rather muscular," she said as she absently ran her fingers over his abs.

"You're just blinded by love."

"Well, I don't know about that, but I definitely am in love with you Ronald Weasley."

"I'm in love with you too, Hermione Granger." She was taken aback my how gentle Ron's tone was. Loving her brought out a softer side of him; it was endearing. "I'm in love with all of you," he continued, giving her breasts a squeeze. She rolled her eyes again.

"I think I've created a monster. You're never going to leave my breasts alone now, are you?"

Ron pretended to ponder her question. "Well… if you were going to bet money on it, I would say the safe bet is no."

She laughed. It felt amazing to be lying here with Ron so exposed and yet feeling so comfortable and at ease. "I suppose I'll just have to be prepared for a sneak attack at all times."

Ron yawned and pulled her closer to him. "I reckon that's not a bad idea."

* * *

 _Author's note: I just adore these two, don't you? Hermione's insecurity is something that I, and I'm guessing most of you as well, can relate to; especially my fellow women. I feel like sometimes we're all self-concious and worried about what guys will think, but they really do think that we're beautiful and are just happy to be getting some nakey time. I love how Ron and his teenage male brain still manage to be sweet and reassure Hermione that she is beautiful. He literally cannot wrap his head around why she would think she is anything less than gorgorgeous._


	17. Chapter 17

She awoke to a crash and the sound of a male voice letting out a string of curses. "Blimey, you two, what's with the door being warded that strongly, didn't know I was going to walk into that-"

Hermione opened her eyes just in time to seeing Harry looking up from dusting himself off and locked eyes with him. His eyes widened and he quickly turned his head, staring at the wall. She was momentarily perplexed as to why he was acting to strangely, but then realized that she was lying bare chested on top of Ron. Good God, how embarrassing. Grant it, Harry had only seen her exposed back, but that was much more than she would have ever wanted him to see. She frantically tried to yank the sheets up to cover herself, but Ron tightened his hold on her and let out a loud snore.

"Ron!" She hissed. "Ronald! Wake up right now!"

Ron's eyes shot open and he grinned. "Good morning, love. Want a repeat performance before breakfast?"

Her cheeks flushed. "No, I most certainly do not. Now let go of me!"

Ron's eyebrows furrowed. "What? Why?"

Hermione jerked her head in Harry's direction. When Ron glanced over and noticed that Harry was in the room, he immediately grasped her tighter and leaned down to grab a sheet and pull it over both of them. "What the fuck, mate? How long were you just going to stand there gawking at Hermione, you randy sod?"

"I wasn't, Ron! I just walked in here a few seconds ago! I didn't know the two of you would be starkers!" Harry exclaimed.

"Well, get the fuck out!"

"No! Ron, don't kick him out. Harry, can just turn around for a minute?" Hermione asked.

Harry did as she asked, but Ron didn't seem to be happy with this arrangement. "No, Hermione! I don't want him getting a look at your bits."

She located her shirt and pulled it over her head. "Well, I'm decent now anyway, and I don't really care who you do and don't want looking at my bits seeing as they are my bits and not your's." She decided that she would take a page out of Ginny's book and end this argument before it started by reminding Ron that he didn't own her. "Alright, Harry. You can turn around now."

Harry turned and walked towards his cot, sitting down on it. "Sorry, Hermione."

"It's perfectly fine, Harry. Don't worry about it. This is your living space, too." She told him. Ron was sitting next to her with a look on his face that seemed to say it wasn't fine at all.

"So, pretending I didn't see that, guess who's coming over today?" Harry asked in delight.

"Who? Reckon every that we know is already here. Aw, blimey, is it Charlie? I love him and all, but once he sees I'm with Hermione he's going to want to sit me down and give me some tips on women. He fancies himself to be quite the ladies man. Always chasing skirts up and down Romania," Ron said.

"What? No, Ron. It's Teddy! Teddy's coming today!" Harry's green eyes danced.

"Oh, Harry! How wonderful!" Hermione exclaimed. They had only seen Teddy once before, at Tonks and Remus's funeral. Andromeda had sat at the front sobbing into a handkerchief as she clutched the tiny wailing baby to her; Hermione could only make out a flash of wispy blue hair. She had watched as Harry had sat there solemnly, but kept taking occasional longing glances at the baby in his grandmother's arms. He had obviously wanted to properly meet his godson, but there didn't seem to be an appropriate moment. As soon as the service was over, Mrs. Tonks had only accepted a few feeble "I'm so sorry for you loss" attempts made by the mourners before she had disapparated, sobbing, with the now screaming child in her arms. Teddy had seemed to somehow know that his parents were gone.

"I know! Isn't it?" Harry asked, a smile lighting up his entire face. "I'll be honest, I'm nervous."

"Why? He's just a baby," Ron interjected.

"It's just that, well, what if I can't do well by him? I know what it's like to grow up without parents. Sirius was such an amazing godfather, and what if I can't be as great as him? I want to make Remus and Tonks proud. They made me godfather for a reason and I want to live up to it."

"Harry, of course you'll be great! Look how much you love him already, and you haven't even met him!" Hermione exclaimed.

Harry let a sheepish smile come through his stony exterior. "Yeah, I reckon I do, don't I?"

"Yeah mate. Don't think for one second that you could be like those awful muggles who raised you," Ron said.

"I won't. I won't ever be like them, and I'll always be there for Teddy. He'll never have to want for anything as far as I'm concerned," Harry said with determination. "Ginny and I have talked it over, and she knows what the deal is. She knows that he'll always be around."

"Why would she care about that?" Ron asked, looking confused.

"Well, Ron, I suppose Harry thought that maybe Ginny would resent the fact that it would be like them having a child around all the time before they had children of their own," Hermione explained.

Harry nodded. "Yup. But she quickly smacked that idea out of my head. Quite literally, I might add. She actually smacked me when I brought it up. Said of course he would always be there, she wouldn't want it any other way." He smiled.

"Well, just as long as you two don't go about having any of your own anytime soon, that's fine," Ron said warningly.

"Don't worry, Ron," Harry said with a chuckle. "That won't be in the cards for a while."

All of the sudden, there was a child like shriek that could be heard from all the way downstairs. Harry's eyes lit up again. "He's here! They must have decided to come early! You're mum said she invited them for breakfast, but wasn't sure if they would be able to come this early!"

Harry jumped up and quickly made his way out of the room. Hermione and Ron stood and automatically followed him. He started the stairs at a brisk walk, but before they reached the landing he was at an all out sprint, dashing to the kitchen. Ginny saw them all running from her perch on her bed, and jumped up to follow them.

By the time they arrived in the kitchen, they were all out of breath and were greeted to the sight of Andromeda Tonks's back. She was facing Molly and the two were involved in an animated discussion. Mrs. Tonks's arms were curved forward in a way that made it obvious she was cradling the baby. Upon their entry, Mrs. Weasley looked up and smiled. "Good morning, dears! Harry, there's someone who wants to meet you."

Andromeda turned around, and Harry's eyes shot directly down to the tiny bundle in her arms, while Hermione's shot to Mrs. Tonks's face. She had never met the third Lestrange sister before, and a quick jolt of terror shot through her when she realized just how much Andromeda Tonks resembled Bellatrix. Ron must have sensed her discomfort, because he grabbed her hand and squeezed it, which served to calm her down.

Teddy Lupin, only barely a month old, smiled at them. He was the perfect combination of his mother and his father, and the thought sent a pang of sadness through Hermione. He had a very pleasant disposition, with his smiling face and chubby arms and legs. Harry stood frozen on the spot, seemingly unable to move. "Would you like to hold him, dear?" Andromeda asked.

Harry blinked. "Yes. Yes, I would." He walked forward, and without hesitation, Andromeda placed Teddy into his godfather's awaiting arms. Harry stood glued to the spot, a look of all consuming wonder on his face. Teddy stared up at him and smiled, looking almost as if he knew he was meeting someone special. He screwed up his face, and just as Hermione thought the baby was going to cry, his hair suddenly changed to a dark jet black and his eyes glowed emerald green. Harry gasped.

"Would you look at that? He only ever does that with people he's really taken a liking to," Andromeda said fondly, reaching out to pat Teddy's head. "Teddy, darling, this is your godfather, Harry. Harry Potter." Teddy gurgled and flashed Harry a radiant smile.

Hermione was doing her best to stop the tears from rolling down her cheeks. She looked over to see Ginny and Mrs. Weasley crying quietly. Even Ron looked a little choked up.

"Hey there, Teddy. I'm your godfather. Harry. I… well… I just want you to know that I'll always be there for you." Harry was crying now as well. "I know what it's like to not have parents, but I swear, you'll never suffer one moment of unnecessary unhappiness, as long as I'm alive." Teddy babbled in response.

"Well, kids, how about you take Teddy out into the drawing room? I'm preparing breakfast, and Andromeda and I wish to talk for a bit before. Go along, now," Mrs. Weasley said as she dabbed her eyes with her handkerchief.

Harry nodded, and turned to walk out of the kitchen, never taking his eyes off of Teddy. Hermione, Ron, and Ginny followed him, and watched as he took a seat on the sofa, carefully cradling the baby in his arms. Ginny sat down next to him, and held her hand out, allowing Teddy to grabbed her fingers with his chubby little hands. "This is incredible," she murmured. "I can't believe this is Remus and Tonks's son."

"I know, isn't he beautiful?" Harry asked, fondly stroking Teddy's hair.

"He really his," Hermione agreed.

"Just think of all the fun things we can do with him. Harry, we'll have him on a broom in no time. He'll be the star of his house team. What do you say, little man?" Ron asked, looking at Teddy. Teddy gurgled and smiled.

"Wow. I can't believe I have a godson to teach how to ride a broom," Harry said, as if he was just starting to realize all of the father and son type of things that he could do with Teddy.

"Yup, we'll show him the ropes. Flying, playing chess. When he gets a bit older, fill him in on girls so he doesn't muck things up as badly as we did. You'll be the stud of Hogwarts, won't you mate?" Ron asked.

"Ron, you'll do no such thing!" Hermione interjected. "He doesn't need you filling his head with nonsense about women!"

"Not nonsense, Hermione. I reckon when he's older he'll see us together and want to know how I managed to nab you."

"Well, fine. Be sure to tell him what _not_ to do."

Ginny chuckled into her hand that wasn't currently being occupied by Teddy's much smaller one.

Suddenly, there was a loud crash and the four of them were on their feet in an instant. Harry rose and yanked his wand out of his pocket, protectively clutching Teddy to his chest. Ginny had thrown herself in front of Harry and Teddy, her hand instinctively covering the baby's head. Ron had jumped up along with Hermione and he had moved to stand in front of her.

The door rattled, and Hermione mentally prepared herself as quickly as possible. She knew that Harry would want to stay and fight, but would be torn between that and his need to protect Teddy. She decided she would offer to take the baby and run. Just as she made to move toward Harry and snatch Teddy out of his arms, the door swung open and in walked George. He still looked God-awful, but his face had a bit more color in it than yesterday.

"What's wrong with you lot?" George asked.

"Merlin's fucking beard, George! You scared the pants off of us! We thought the fucking house was being invaded! What the fuck was that crash?" Ron screamed.

"Ron, mind your language in front of the baby," Hermione hissed.

"Oh, sorry. I guess I'm still a wee bit drunk from yesterday," George said with a shrug. "Who's this little guy?"

"My godson," Harry said with pride. "Remus and Tonks's son, Teddy."

"No shit," said George.

"George, mind your language in front of the baby!" Hermione couldn't help but correct him.

George looked and her, and attempted to give her a smile that didn't quite meet his eyes. "Ah, Granger. Ever the goody goody, aren't you?"

"Oi, watch how you're talking to my girlfriend," Ron interjected.

George ignored him. "This is Teddy? Well, let's have him, then." George held out his hands in a gesture that clearly stated he wanted to hold the baby. Harry made to pass Teddy to George, but Ginny looked unsure.

"I don't know George. As you just said you're still a little drunk. And you've never even held a baby before," Ginny said.

"Oh, come on Gin. I'm sure this tosspot hadn't ever held a baby until a few minutes ago," George said, nodding to Harry.

Harry smiled in agreement. "He's right, Gin."

"Fine, but sit on the sofa, George. We don't need you dropping him," Ginny said, still looking uncertain.

George rolled his eyes, but did as he was told. Harry leaned down and handed him the baby. George held Teddy a bit awkwardly, but the child seemed to be perfectly comfortable and content. He blinked up at George and his hair turned into a carbon copy of the tell-tale Weasley red. George looked at him in shock. "What the bloody…"

"Oh, you didn't hear? He's a metamorphmagus. Takes after his mother," Ginny said fondly.

"Well, I reckon he's a smart little bloke as well, aren't you Ted? Excellent choice turning your hair that dashing red color. Sure to get you all the birds."

"Not you too. Is that all you men ever think about?" Hermione asked in amusement.

"Pretty much," Ron, Harry, and George said in unison.

Just then, Molly and Andromeda walked into the room. Mrs. Weasley took one look at her son sitting on the sofa holding the baby and burst into tears all over again. "Oh, Georgie! I'm so glad you came down to join us! Just look at this, he really has taken a liking to you, hasn't he? You always were such a sweet boy. Babies know these things, I've always said."

"Er, thanks Mum. I think I'll be going back upstairs now. Who wants the little tike next?" Hermione happened to be closest to George at the moment, and before she could register what was happening he turned and placed Teddy in her arms. The child giggled and grasped a lock of her bushy hair.

"But George, darling, I've prepared breakfast. Why don't you stay, dear?" Mrs. Weasley asked with sadness in her eyes.

"Sorry, Mum. I just can't," George said, not quite meeting his mother's eyes.

Mrs. Weasley looked heart broken. "Well, I understand, sweetheart. I'll bring something up for you, how does that sound?"

George merely nodded, then turned and ghosted back up the stairs. Mrs. Weasley sadly watched him leave, then turned to the rest of them. "Alright, you lot. Breakfast is ready. Come along."

Andromeda turned to Hermione. "He'll be needing his bottle. Wait there for a moment while I fetch it, will you dear?" Hermione nodded and took a seat on the sofa. "Harry, why don't you come with me? I'll show you how to prepare it." Harry nodded his head enthusiastically, seemingly enthralled with the idea of learning how to do more baby things. He followed Andromeda back into the kitchen, and Ginny went with them, leaving just Hermione and Ron in the room.

Ron sat down next to her. "Guess I'm not the only one who loves your hair," he joked, pointing to Teddy's tiny fist that was now quite literally lost in her wild locks.

"Yes, well, I've never understood why you like it anyway," she replied absently.

"Because it's brilliant. And you're brilliant," Ron stated as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Hermione looked down at Teddy. She didn't have too much experience holding babies; only a few of her younger muggle cousins at family reunions. She found there was something calming and peaceful about holding a life this innocent and pure in her arms. His hair had shifted back to a light blue color. It suited him. She remembered how whenever Tonks had made her hair blue it had always been that exact same shade. She stroked Teddy's chubby cheek and he smiled at her. "You're a handsome little man, aren't you?" She asked with a smile. He gurgled in response.

"Hermione?"

"Yes, Ron?"

"What do you think Mum and Mrs. Tonks were talking about?"

"I'm not sure, Ron. Why?" She asked as Teddy snuggled into her chest.

"Well, I reckon it might be a bit awkward between them, what with Mum killing her sister."

Hermione hadn't considered that. She figured that everyone thought Mrs. Weasley a hero, and there would be a unanimous consensus that the world was a better place without Bellatrix Lestrange in it. Was Mrs. Tonks upset and resentful about her sister's death? She didn't quite know how the bonds of siblinghood worked. Was there nothing that was unforgivable when it came to family?

"Well, Ron. I don't think we should worry about it. She's obviously not too mad at your mother if she agreed to come here today. Maybe she hasn't thought of her as a sister for some time now."

"Yeah, but still. Add that to the list of weird things going on around here, am I right?" Ron said with a grimace.

"I suppose so." She wanted to change the topic. Talking about Bellatrix, even in a roundabout way, was making her uncomfortable. "Would you like to hold him, Ron?"

Ron suddenly looked nervous. "Hold him? It seems like you're doing a fine job. I don't need to."

"Well, yes. But don't you want to?"

"I'm not sure. I mean, what if I hurt him?" Ron asked.

"You won't. And besides, you're going to have to learn someday. What's going to happen when we have our own k-" She cut herself off. "-nieces and nephews? I'm sure your family will produce a lot."

Ron gave her a suspicious look, but held out his arms in an invitation for her to place Teddy in them. She did so, and all of the sudden Teddy looked even smaller against Ron's large chest. "He's so tiny," Ron breathed.

Just then, they heard a call from the kitchen. "Hermione, dear, bring him in, won't you? The bottle is ready!"

Ron made to give Teddy back to her, but she resisted. "You can carry him in, Ron."

Ron looked unsure. "I don't know Hermione."

"You can. Come along, then," she said as she jumped up and starting walking, not giving him time to argue with her. She turned around and saw Ron following her, staring down at the baby as if he was going to drop it at any second. Teddy didn't seem to realize that his holder was terrified of dropping him. In fact, his eyes started to close.

Andromeda smiled when they entered the room. "Tired little fellow, isn't he? Harry's just going to feed him, then I thought I would put him down for a nap in the pram."

"Oh, you don't have to do that Andromeda! I'm sure I still have a bassinet or two upstairs in the attic from when the kids were babies. I'll have Ron fetch it after breakfast and we'll set it up in the drawing room."

Mrs. Tonks nodded. "Thank you Molly, that would be lovely. Now, Ron, pass Teddy along to Harry, I promised him this feeding, but you can have the next one if you wish." Ron looked as though it had never even occurred to him that a baby would have to be fed, much less that he wanted to do it. He quickly passed Teddy back into Harry's eagerly awaiting arms. Harry cradled Teddy and grabbed the bottle from Mrs. Tonks. "There you go, Harry. Good. Now angle it just like that at his lips. Oh, you're a natural!" Mrs. Tonks praised as Teddy took the bottle and started sucking down the formula. Harry smiled and looked as though he thought this was quite possibly his greatest accomplishment to date. Hermione found herself thinking that maybe it was. Her eyes welled up with tears as she realized that there sat Harry, her best friend, who had been through so much to be able to enjoy this moment. Teddy was a symbol for all that they had sacrificed. Harry, who had grown up as an abused orphan, now had the chance to care and nurture for a fellow orphan, and make sure that Teddy would never see that same kind of abuse. What a gift Tonks and Remus had given both Harry and Teddy when they had named Harry godfather.

* * *

 _Author's note: I LOVE the idea of Harry meeting Teddy for the first time. I just know he was a great godfather, and considered Teddy to be his first son. Also, any thoughts on the fact that Mrs. Weasley killed Andromeda's sister? I always thought that this would have been something that the two of them would have discussed, if only briefly._


	18. Chapter 18

Teddy slept for the rest of the afternoon in Ron's old baby crib that he and Harry had found in the attic with the ghoul's help. The boys had then decided to take their brooms for a fly around the back yard, seeing as they hadn't properly flown in ages. Hermione and Ginny had elected to stay inside and offered to keep an eye on Teddy as Molly and Andromeda spoke in the kitchen. Harry darted in every ten minutes or so check on Teddy, causing the girls to laugh after the fourth time he had done so.

"Goodness, love," Ginny said with a giggle, "I'm starting to think that you don't trust Hermione and I with him."

Harry glanced at them with a sheepish look on his face. "Of course I do, Gin."

"Never mind, Harry. I was only joking. You're fine," Ginny reassured him. Harry smiled and ran back outside.

"So, Hermione, listen. Bill and Fleur are coming back tonight, and I was thinking that we take this opportunity to have her help us," Ginny said once Harry had left the room.

"I'm not sure, Ginny. I mean, I don't think that Ron and I are quite there yet, and I don't want to bother Fleur if it isn't necessary."

"It's not bothering her. And I'm going to ask her anyway, so why don't you just be there so she won't have to do it again? Plus, I want you there taking notes. You're the brilliant one. You'll have it all memorized and understood right away."

Hermione supposed that Ginny was right. "Alright, Gin. I'm just a bit… I don't know. Not embarrassed, but... "

Ginny rolled her eyes. "You're so prim and proper, Hermione. Besides, I reckon I'm the one who has the most reason to feel uncomfortable. The two of you are shagging my brothers."

"Ginny! I am not shagging Ron!" Hermione admonished.

"But you will be soon. Don't even try to deny it, Hermione. It's fine. I'm fine with it. In fact, I want the two of you to be happy. And who knows, maybe you'll loosen up a bit once you've had a good shag."

"I didn't know that I was in need of loosening up," Hermione sniffed.

"Aw, come on Hermione. You know I love you. You could stand to get laid, though."

"Ginny, that's vulgar."

"I don't hear you arguing with me."

"Fine! I'll sit there and listen, but mostly to make sure that you don't muck anything up for yourself."

"Okay, whatever you say," Ginny said in a mocking tone.

Later that night, after her shower, Hermione sat on her cot in Ginny's room attempting to brush out her hair. There was a quiet knock on the door, and Fleur glided into the room, as beautiful as ever.

" 'ello girls. I saw Teddy in ze sitting room. 'andsome little fellow. Did you 'ave a pleasant day with 'im?"

"Yeah, Fleur. He's an amazing little bloke. He and Harry are both pretty lucky," Ginny answered.

"William and I 'ad a good time at 'ome, 'owever, we thought zat eet would be best to come back. Maman Weasley still needs help." Fleur said in her beautiful tinkling voice.

"Listen, Fleur. Hermione and I were thinking, could you fill us in on those magical contraceptive methods you were talking about? If you and Bill aren't going to be here that much longer this might be the best time." Hermione could tell that Ginny was trying to sound nonchalant.

Fleur eyebrows shot up a fraction of an inch, but she didn't seem too surprised at the request. "Of course. Is everything alright between you and 'arry?"

"Oh, yeah. It's just that, well, I love him so much and we've come pretty close to going all the way a couple of times, so I thought I'd do the smart thing and ask for your help just in case." Ginny said with a shrug of her shoulders.

"Sure zing. I'll be right back," Fleur glided out of the room once again, only to return with what looked like a miniature trunk. "Zis es what I keep everything in. Now, zere's a potion and zere is a charm. Both can be used at ze same time for more effectiveness, 'owever if you were just relying on one I would say ze potion is much more effective. If brewed correctly zere es an almost one 'undred percent chance of no pregnancy. And, sometimes eet is easy to forget ze charm if you are in ze moment. For ze potion you must take eet at ze same time every day. Zere is ze possibility to buy eet premade exactly perfect, 'owever eet is expensive. During ze war eet became very scarce, so I started buying ze ingredients and brewing eet myself, which is much cheaper. Just be sure it is brewed perfectly. 'er is ze list of ingredients."

Hermione took the list and scanned the items; nothing too strange or complicated.

Fleur continued. "Now, when it's finished it should look like this." She held up a vile of a pretty pink swirling liquid. "If I'm not 'ere the first time you brew it, make sure you show me before you use it. I'll be able to tell you if it is correct. Make enough to last one month, much longer zan zat and ze effects will start to wear off. You can fit eet around your cycle. See, I have twenty-eight little vials 'ere. I feel zem up and take one everyday." She showed Hermione and Ginny her little trunk which housed twenty-eight vials, each in a different assigned day. It reminded Hermione of a muggle days of the week pill box. "As for ze charm, I can show you 'ow to do eet right now. Eet really is all about about ze wandwork. Very complicated, and still if performed correctly not as effective. Zat is because you are trying to pinpoint something so small, ze egg and stopping ze sperm, zat even with zen eet just might not work."

Fleur took her wand and pointed to her stomach, and made a bunch of complicated slashing motions while murmuring _Conception Impedimenta_. "You'll know if you performed it correctly if you feel a warmth in your womb."

Hermione attempted to mimic Fleur's wand movements, and after a few unsuccessful tries she finally felt a warm tingling in her stomach. Ginny, however, could not get the hand motions down perfectly, and gave up with a huff. "Never mind, you'll work on it with me, Hermione. I'd say the potion is good enough for now. Fleur, is it okay for him to, er-" Ginny cheeks flashed red and more the first time she looked embarrassed about their conversation.

Hermione didn't know what Ginny was trying to say, but Fleur seemed to know what she was asking. "Finish inside of you? Yes, the potion will protect you with zat."

"Thank you so much, Fleur. I think Mum would have had a heart attack if I asked her about this," Ginny said.

"Eet is no problem, girls. If I may ask, how is everything going with 'arry and Ron?"

"Great!" Ginny answered.

Fleur looked to Hermione. "It's going rather wonderfully. Better than I ever could have dreamed, actually," Hermione said.

"And zey are always respectful?"

"Always," both Hermione and Ginny answered at the same time.

"Fantastic. Now, if you'll excuse me I 'ave to get get back to William. Good night, girls."

"Good night, Fleur. Thanks again," said Ginny.

Fleur smiled at them and glided out of Ginny's room.

Ginny turned to Hermione. "See? Not bad at all. Now, I say we get started brewing this as soon as possible. And when I say we I mean you. You'll get it perfectly right the first time, I know it. We just have to make a run back to Diagon Alley to get the ingredients."

"Actually, I was looking at the list and it looks pretty standard. Your Mum might actually have everything we need."

"Brilliant. We'll just need to figure out a way to brew it without her catching on…"

"Ginny, I don't know if I feel comfortable sneaking around behind your mother's back. She's already taken me into her home when I really have no business being here right now, and I've been sneaking up to Ron's room every night. I don't want to disrespect her even more."

"Oh come on, Hermione!

"Ginny, no!"

"Fine! I overheard Mum and Fleur talking about Mum popping by Shell Cottage in the next few days to help Fleur spruce it up a bit. Why don't we just do it when she's gone? No sneaking, she just happens to be out of the house when we do it." Ginny reasoned.

"Gin, why are you so intent on your mother not knowing about this?"

"I told you! I love Mum, but she's old fashioned. She waited until she was married, and she always told me that I should do the same. She's a very traditional pure blood that way. I'm her only daughter, and I just don't want to make her more upset than she already is."

"Okay… fine. But only because I don't want you to get pregnant and I don't want to upset Mrs. Weasley any further."

"You sure it doesn't have the least bit to do with you and Ron as well?" Ginny taunted.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Hermione said as she turned up her nose and looked away.

The two girls laid in silence on their beds for a few minutes. Then, Hermione spoke up. "It's strange isn't it?"

"What?" Ginny asked.

"Worrying about things like this. I mean, this time last year I didn't even think I would make it to my next birthday, much less ever finally get together with Ron or think about having children. Sometimes I feel like I'm not supposed to be here. I was so sure that I was going to die."

"But you are supposed to be here, Hermione. You survived for a reason. Now you can be with Ron and _reproduce_ "-Ginny said the word as if it were poisonous- "with him if you want. Although why you would want to have his lanky kids is beyond me."

"I would get offended by that if I didn't know for a fact you were joking. I happen to love your brother very much; that's why I want to have his children. Some day." Hermione added.

"I know. I'm only taking the piss. Speaking of my brother, would you hurry up and get a move on? I can see Harry's shadow underneath the door."

Hermione chuckled, and made what she supposed would become a nightly routine switch with Harry. Ron awaited her, as punctual as ever on his spot on the bed. His face lit up when he saw her, and he opened his arms in a gesture that clearly welcomed her to envelope herself within them. She took the offer gladly, and they laid down on the bed together. She turned and he cuddled up behind her, spooning her from behind. She marveled at how perfectly they fit together. They both seemed to be rather tired, but just as Hermione was about to doze off to sleep, Ron spoke.

"Hermione?"

"Yes?"

"I was thinking, and please don't get mad at me when I say this…"

Her mind started whirling. What was he about to say? Did he want to end it? In the back of her head she knew that thought was ridiculous, but she still had a nagging insecurity that he would come to realize how high maintenance her post traumatic stress was and chuck her for a more mentally stable girl.

"I think you should get tested at St. Mungo's. Just some tests to make sure you're okay."

Oh. That certainly hadn't been what she thought he was going to say. "Why, Ron?" She asked, exasperated. "I'm fine."

"No, you're not Hermione."

"I've told you. I'm not crazy. Now can we just leave it at that?"

"I don't think you're crazy. I'm just worried about your health, love. I love you more than anything, and I can't stand to see you like this. If they can somehow help you…"

"Well, I'm not going, and that's final."

"Why, Hermione? Give me one good reason," Ron challenged her.

"Because I said so."

"That's not a reason and you know it."

She was getting angry now. Why wouldn't he just let it go? "It's as good a reason as any. Now drop it, Ron."

"No, I won't. Not until you tell me what's going on," he replied.

"I don't need to tell you every little thing, Ronald! I told you to let it go!" She was yelling at him now, slipping back into their old rowing roles. She found it came easily.

"Well, I wish you would! You're my bloody girlfriend, Hermione! I don't understand why you would think this is a burden for me! I want to help you!" Ron was yelling now as well.

"Fine! Sometimes the reason why I don't want to go get checked out is because…what if they do find something wrong with me? I want to have a normal life. I want the quaint little house with the white picket fence and 2.5 kids. I've researched the cruciatus curse, Ron. I know what it can do. It can really mess with body systems. I'm so worried that it could have done something to my reproductive system. I know that I don't want to get pregnant now, but what if I spend the next five or ten years doing everything to not get pregnant, only to find out that I never could in the first place, or that I shouldn't have been trying to prevent it because it would be extremely unlikely to ever conceive? What if I can't have my happily ever after with you, even after all we've sacrificed? I know that it must be weirding you out that I'm talking about children, and I'm sorry. But these are things that girls wonder about sometimes. I know it's too early to normally be discussing this, but I don't think our situation has ever been normal-"

"You want to have my children?" Ron asked, cutting her off. His eyes were wide and he had a disbelieving smile on his face.

"Well, yes, Ron. Who else's would I want to have? Someday, of course. I love you. Of course I want you to be the father of my children. But I didn't want to freak you out by bringing this up."

"You could never freak me out, love. I've seen way too many freaky things to ever get freaked out again, I reckon. And just so you know, I want all of that stuff too. Not today, mind you, but someday, for sure. We've seen enough freaky things, don't you think? I just want a normal life with you."

"I know, Ron. But I just thought that bringing up the subject of-"

"What? Kids? Hermione, the idea of you having my children… well it's turning me on at the moment, truly. I'm the luckiest bloke in the world if you're telling me right now that you would want my brute of a kid in you."

She slapped his arm. "Ron! I'll thank you not to call my child a brute. It would be half me, you know."

"Yeah, I know," he said with a smile. "That would be the best part." Then, his expression got stern again. "I'm serious though, Hermione. I think that you should really consider this. No matter what the results are, I'll always love you, and I plan on getting my happily ever after with you. No matter what."

"I'll think about it Ron. Can we just leave it at that?"

"Alright, I'll let it go for now. I reckon we could always start practicing for those kids, though. Practice makes perfect, isn't that what you always say?" He asked with a waggle of his eyebrows.

"Dear Merlin, Ron," was the only response she could think of as she snuggled back into his embrace in an attempt to drift off into a hopefully peaceful slumber.

* * *

 _Author's note: I see Ginny and Harry as being more experienced and knowing what they want because they had a relationship before, as opposed to Hermione and Ron's new budding relationship. Also, Ginny has always been a girl to go after what she wants. I always thought that maybe the reason why Ginny and Harry had children first, even though Ron and Hermione had their first child a year later, may have been because Ron and Hermione had difficulty conceiving which could have been due to trauma caused by Hermione's torture. Hermione is having difficulty talking about contraception because I think it makes her realize that the curse could have damaged her in more ways than one._


	19. Chapter 19

_She was pinned to the floor, a heavy pressure increasing against her collarbone, until she heard an audible snap and deduced that Greyback must have just broken her delicate bone in two. Ron and Harry had been dragged up from the cellar, and were being held by the scruff of their hair and forced to watch. Greyback ripped her clothes off easily, and she was left to feel mortified in thinking that not only all of the other men in the room, but also Ron, could see her naked. This wasn't how she had dreamed her first exposure of herself to him would be. One of the snatchers brought Ron closer and forced him down on his knees, so that she was eye two eye with him, and she saw tears streaming down his face. Bellatrix taunted Ron about how his witch was a whore as Greyback raped her._

 _The image shifted, and now she was with Ron in the cold and dark cellar. Voldemort had killed Harry; her and Ron had been cast aside and thrown into this dungeon days, or maybe weeks ago. She was blinded by the darkness, and it had become apparent that they were going to starve to death down here. At least she was with her Ron; at least she would die in his arms and he in hers…_

 _The dream changed again, and this time she was back upstairs underneath the chandelier. Bellatrix whispered in her ear that they had a surprise for her, and to her horror she saw her parents being dragged into the room. So it had all been for nothing. She had lied and deceived her parents only to have them be found in the end. It was all her fault; her mudblood status had ultimately brought them all to this, and now her poor parents, being muggles, were unable to even defend themselves. They would all die here in the Malfoy's stately home…_

"Hermione, wake up!" She was suddenly very aware of Ron's hands on her shoulders as he shook her, none to gently, to wake her from her nightmare. She began to cry when she realized it had just been another bad dream.

"I-I'm s-sorry Ron."

"For what?" He asked.

"F-for w-aking you again. J-ust another b-bad d-dream." She cursed herself for not being able to stop stuttering.

"Don't apologize, Hermione. Hey, do you want to talk about it? It might help."

"Well, I was dreaming about a lot of different things, but the last bit of it my parents were there."

"Oh. I'm sorry, Hermione that must have been awful." Ron had a deeply disturbed look on his face.

"I feel so guilty, Ron."

"Don't be. Please don't be Hermione. You had to do it."

"I could have done something else! There had to have been another way! I lied to them, Ron. I went behind their backs and did this without their consent. They're my parents! They've sacrificed everything for me and look how I repay them; I tamper with their minds and abandon them." She was crying all over again now.

"You saved their lives, Hermione," Ron said with a quiet certainty.

"Maybe so, but I don't think they'll ever forgive me for this."

"They'll have to. I'll make them see."

"You? How?"

"Why don't we go get them? You're clearly distraught over this, and I think it's safe by now. I'll come with you."

"I don't know, Ron. Your family needs you here, and you need them."

Ron dismissed her statement with a wave of his hand. "Rubbish. What I need is to be with you and help you. They'll understand."

"I doubt your mother will. She'll probably think I'm a scarlet woman stealing her baby boy away from her."

"Well, Mum is just going to have to get used to the fact that I'm not a baby anymore. She'll come 'round. You know she's already bonkers over the fact that you and I are together, so I don't get why you're so worried."

"She likes us being together in the way that it makes you happy and me happy. She likes the idea of her son ending up with someone whom she likes, and on top of that maybe she'll get some grandkids out of it. I don't think she likes the idea about us going about any of it unconventionally, though."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean she might not take a liking to the idea of us shacking up out in Australia."

"Shacking up?! We'd just be going to fetch your parents!"

"I know that, Ron. But from what Ginny has told me, I don't think that your mother would see it that way. She has her morals, and I'm not about to stand in the way of them. Me even being in here right now is disrespecting her more than I would like to admit."

"Don't worry about Mum. If I want to go, I'm going. I'm of age now, and I already traveled all over the fucking countryside on a mission a million times more dangerous than this, didn't I?"

"Yes but I think it's different, now. For one thing, we weren't together back then. Also, now that she has you back I don't think she'll want to let you go."

"Like I said, don't worry about Mum. I'll take care of it."

There was silence for a while, then Hermione spoke up again

"I just can't stand the thought of not being able to undo the spell, or them not forgiving me."

"I know, love. But I know you will be able to, and I know they'll forgive you. There's nothing to forgive, really. I'll ask dad to talk to Kingsley about it, yeah?"

She contemplated what he said, then decided that she would trust him with this. He knew her better than anyone; better than she knew herself, sometimes. If he thought she was strong enough to face this, then maybe she was. "Alright. Let's at least see what our options are."

Ron nodded and pulled her back against his chest. She slept soundly for the rest of the night.


	20. Chapter 20

The next morning, she sat underneath a tree in an attempt to shade herself from the sun with a book in her lap. Ron flew on his broom high above her, and every few minutes he would look down at her with a goofy grin on his face and wave. She waved back, and blew him a kiss. He made an exaggerated effort of flying sideways, as if she hadn't aimed well, and lunged, catching the imaginary kiss in midair. Oh, how she inexplicably loved him, with his goofiness and stubborness and kindness and vulgarity.

Why can we not choose who we love? She hadn't made a conscious decision to love Ron; it just was, the same way that the grass was green or the sky was blue. She had been going about her life, and suddenly there he was. She couldn't describe in words how it had felt to have fallen in love with him, because she wasn't even sure if she could pinpoint the exact moment. In her mind, everything was divided by a time before she had known him, and after she had met him. The time between being his friend and falling in love with him was blurry, maybe because she couldn't fathom not being in love with him at this point. Or, maybe that was why they called it "falling in love". You don't climb down a sturdy ladder; you fall right to the bottom, hard and fast. That time in between consisted of snapshots of moments with him that had only served as fuel to make her fall harder and faster, ending with an explosion as she hit the bottom, resulting in her maddening love for him. How, she wondered, had she ever existed in a world where they hadn't known of each other? When she had never looked upon his handsome face? How was it possible that this one person meant more than what the entire world had to offer to her, ten times over, even? Was it rational that she allowed him to hold her heart? It wasn't so much that she had allowed it, but was forced by a power bigger than herself to give it to him, and he took it willingly with a promise of giving her his heart in return.

He flew lower, circling the yard a few times before he landed in front of her in an uncharacteristically graceful manner. The sun lit him up from behind, and he smiled. Her stomach flipped and her heart fluttered.

"I love you." Hermione had told him this many times before. This time, however, she had never felt more certain of the words. She cared for him in a way that left her without a doubt that it was true love. She supposed that was when you really knew; when you stopped questioning it and accepted it as a law.

He smiled at her warmly, then sat down next to her, his back against the tree. "I love you, too," he whispered, then leaned in and kissed her chastely on the lips, before leaning back to look her in the eyes. "It's insane how much I love you."

She nodded, agreeing with him. "I can't even put it into words. I don't even know where it began, I just know it's never going to end."

Ron pondered what she had just said. "I don't know when it began for me, either. I mean, I know I thought of you as a friend first year, and I was in love with you by the end of sixth year, but when exactly did it happen?"

"You loved me in sixth year?"

He looked at her, puzzled. "Well, yes. Didn't you know?"

"I suspected…"

He looked sad all of the sudden. "We wasted so much time. We could have held hands in the halls and gone on dates to Hogsmeade together. I would have held doors open for you and held your books for you and kissed you at the bottom of the girls' stairs every night before bed."

She allowed herself to briefly daydream about a life with Ron as her boyfriend at Hogwarts. He was right; it would have been amazing.

"We could have snogged in broom cupboards. We could have laid on the sofa in the common room in front of the fire together," Ron continued.

She held her finger up to his lips. "Hush. That would have been brilliant, but I'm glad things happened the way they did. It got us to where we are now. And, just think of all of the wonderful things we're not going to miss."

"You're right. You should know that since we are going to get to do all of those things on account of not dying and all, I'm glad that I'm going to be doing them with you. I love you, Hermione. So much."

"I love you too," she replied.

Once again, she had no doubt in her words, and no doubt that she ever would.


	21. Chapter 21

_Author's note: Fair warning, this chapter gets a little racy at times, and the next chapter will as well._

* * *

"So, apparently Percy is bringing that bird of his to dinner tonight," Ron informed all of them as they lounged in his attic room. Hermione sat on Ron's bed with him, her head in his lap as she read her book from earlier that day. Ginny sat in Harry's lap on the cot opposite them.

Ginny nodded her head. "I'm excited to meet her. Reckon she's as uptight as him, though?"

Ron wrinkled his nose. "I hope not. And besides, Perce has loosened up quite a bit."

"Yeah, reckon it might have something to do with him getting shagged regularly," Harry piped up. Ginny guffawed from her perch in his lap.

"Ron, Ginny, Harry, Hermione! Dinner!" Mrs. Weasley called from the kitchen.

They arrived at the kitchen and were greated to the sight of Percy, with his arm around a woman.

"Everyone, this is Audrey." Percy said and smiled with pride.

Audrey smiled at them, and right away Hermione saw what must have initially attracted Percy to her. She had beautiful black hair that was precisely pinned back away from her face. She wore a grey dress suite with a high neckline and no nonsense black pumps with a small heal, but even with all of the layers she wore Hermione could tell that she had a darling figure. She had a very pretty face that was only painted with a dash of mascara and lipgloss, and when she smiled the barely there lines around her eyes crinkled slightly, giving her a sort of discrete wisdom. On the surface she looked like the female version of Percy, but she had an air about her that seemed to state there was much more to her than pant suits and paperwork.

"Hello, everyone! It's so nice to finally meet you. You must be Ginny," Audrey said as she walked up to Ginny and shook her hand. "Percy talks about you all the time." She looked at Ron. "And you're Ron of course. Hello, it's a pleasure." She then turned to Hermione and Harry. "Hello. It's nice to meet you two as well."

Harry looked relieved that Audrey hadn't made a big deal about him being Harry Potter. "You as well. I'm Harry. Ginny's boyfriend and Ron's friend." Audrey smiled and nodded.

"And I'm Hermione. Ron's girlfriend and Ginny's friend as well." Audrey nodded at Hermione. She must have known who they were. There was no way that you could be part of the wizarding world and not know who the three of them were at this point, but Audrey had the decency to not treat them as if they were celebrities. It felt good to be able to introduce herself as just Ron's girlfriend and Ginny's friend.

Molly could hardly contain her glee at their little interaction. "Splendid! Now that everyone has met, why don't we sit down to dinner! Oh! How marvelous!"

They filed into the kitchen and sat down at the table. For all of the people sitting at the table that she didn't know, Audrey didn't seem to be uncomfortable in the slightest. She fit in easily and had no trouble talking to whoever struck up a conversation with her.

"So, how did you two meet?" Ginny asked, although it seemed rather obvious to Hermione. Audrey had ministry worker written all over her.

"At the ministry, I work there as well," Audrey answered.

"And what is it that you do there, my dear?" Mrs. Weasley asked.

"I work in the The Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures. I've been working for the department since I graduated from Hogwarts. Although I wouldn't exactly call it a proper department for the past year. But we're working to establish it again."

Percy nodded. "Voldemort's followers were constantly trying to infiltrate the department's records, to see the whereabouts and get any information they could about any magical creatures to recruit on their side. But Audrey has been working day and night to regain connection with all of their members and strengthen their trust and privacy again," Percy said and looked at Audrey with a loving expression.

Suddenly, George appeared in the room, seemingly having smelled the food. Molly's face lit up at the prospect of her depressed son finally joining them for dinner.

"Ugh, Perce. That look you just gave this poor girl was sickening. I'm sorry you had to be subjected to that," George said with a nod in Audrey's direction.

Audrey smiled. "It's quite alright, but thank you for your concern. I'm Audrey," said Audrey as she held out her hand for George to shake.

"My girlfriend," Percy interjected with pride.

George rolled his eyes. "I gathered as much, Perce. What with the lovesick looks you're throwing her and your inability to keep your hands off of her." He nodded to Audrey's thigh, which Percy had been stroking. Percy blushed but didn't remove his hand. "Wow, so I guess I'm the only one left, aren't I? Might just be the eternal bachelor, I reckon."

"Of course not, Georgie. You'll find someone. Now sit down with us and eat," Mrs. Weasley said.

George did as his mother asked him to, but as he sat down next to her Hermione was the only one to hear him mumble, _"Don't know who would want to be with a fuck up like me…"_

Mrs. Weasley's food was fabulous as always. They ate rather quickly, and as the plates were magically clearing themselves from the table Percy announced, "Thank you for the dinner, Mother, but we really should be going. I promised Audrey that I would escort her home."

"Why so eager to get back to her's, Perce? What could you two possibly do together that would have you wanting to miss dessert?" George taunted.

"George, stop it with your filth. Percy, I still have dessert to serve. I made your favorite," said Mrs. Weasley.

"Thank you, but we really should be going. Both of us have an early day tomorrow-"

"Hush, Percy," Audrey interjected. "We'll be fine. Nothing wrong with staying for your favorite dessert, right?" Percy grudgingly agreed with a nod, and Molly smiled.

After serving a delicious treacle tart, Fleur and Audrey both offered to help Mrs. Weasley clean up. Percy had long since abandoned his plan to go back to Audrey's flat early, and instead gave into her wanting to stay at his family's home a while longer. Everyone else retired to the sitting room, and Harry and Ron struck up a game of wizard's chess while Bill, Percy, and George sat on the sofa, finishing off their butter beers from dinner. Hermione sat in the chair by herself, continuing to read her book, when suddenly she noticed Ginny out of the corner of her eye, motioning for her to come over. She got up and cautiously ventured over to Ginny, who had turned and started to walk up the stairs.

"What, Ginny?"

"Shh! I want to hear about what's really going on at the Ministry, but I don't think that Percy will talk about it with the two of us in the room. You know, he thinks that women are delicate or some shit like that. With both of us gone maybe he'll talk."

"And how do you plan on hearing what he has to say?"

With a mischievous glint in her eye, Ginny summoned an extendable ear. Hermione raised her eyebrows. "What? Did you seriously think I was going to chuck this fine piece of brilliance? I've been using it all year to hear things I wasn't supposed to know about," Ginny said with a shrug.

"Well, I don't condone spying, but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't curious about how the rebuilding process is going as well…" Hermione pondered.

"Brilliant! Okay, let me just reel it out." Ginny sent the extendable ear over to the sitting room door. They put their ears up to the listening end and listened for voices. Sure enough, the men in the other room could be heard clear as day.

"So, Perce," George's voice could be heard through the extendable ear. "Now that the girls are gone, want to tell us exactly what that witch in the other room does in bed that had you wanting to get back to her flat so fast?"

Percy sputtered, while all of the other men laughed. "I don't know what you're talking about, George."

"Oh, come off it! You're shagging her. Nothing to be ashamed about, might I add. She's a bit too subdued for my taste, but she's fit."

"While I won't deny that my girlfriend is attractive, that's not the only reason why I like her. She's smart, and kind, and she puts me in my place when I need it," Percy said.

"Yeah, I reckon that you need someone to tell you when you're being a right prat," Ron's voice could be heard saying.

"It also helps that if he doesn't stop being a prat he doesn't get sex. Reckon that'll change your pratty ways real quick, won't it Percy?" George said with a laugh.

Percy sighed. "Yes, George. I suppose it does. Now, does anybody else have anything to take the Mickey about? Do it quickly before Audrey comes in here. She doesn't need to hear your filth. I don't see why you feel the need to make fun of our sex life, but if you must-"

"Nice, Perce!" George said with enthusiasm. Hermione heard a faint clap, and she could just picture George holding up his hand for a high five and Percy grudgingly giving him a half hearted slap.

"Yes, well, I am quite happy with her. She brings out the best in me."

"You'll find that's the way to go, boys. Find one witch that you can't live without and brings out the best in you and stick with her. Everything else will fall into place," Bill said.

"That's how it is with me and Hermione. I can't be without her, and she told me she can't be without me. I reckon we'll just figure everything else out," Ron said. Hermione felt her heart melt a little bit.

"Ah, yes. Finally pulled your head out of your arse long enough to nab Granger, Ronnie? We thought you might never grow the bollocks," George teased.

"Yeah, I did. That book you gave me helped a lot. She's brilliant," Ron said. Hermione smiled at the thought of the book, _12 Fail Safe Way to Charm Witches_ , that she had found under his bed last summer while searching for clothes to pack.

"Bet she's a brilliant shag too. It's always the quiet ones."

"Oi! Watch yourself! That's my girlfrind!" Ron shouted.

"Yeah, mate. I don't need to hear that either," Harry could be heard saying in a disgusted tone.

"Honestly though, Ron. Marvelous choice, picking Ms. Granger as a partner. She's going places, to be sure," Percy said.

"Actually, Perce, I didn't really have a choice, you know?" Ron replied.

"Yeah, actually, I do," Percy answered.

Suddenly, the conversation faded out. Hermione looked over to see Ginny reeling in the extendable ear, an annoyed look on her face. "For fuck's sake, I can't listen to one more moment of this." Hermione didn't object, but she wouldn't have minded to continue listening. The vulgarity she could do without, but she loved to hear Ron talk about her with such adoration in his voice. "Never mind those idiots. Come upstairs with me and we'll get the stuff we bought at Madam Malkin's sorted."

They journeyed up to Ginny's room, and she pulled their bags out of her closet. "Here's your stuff."

"Ginny?"

"Yeah?"

Hermione had been mulling over taking the next step in her physical relationship with Ron for a few days now. She loved him so much, and wanted to make him feel good and be close to him. She wasn't ready to go all the way or anything, but she was curious to cross over into third base territory. Maybe wearing one of the ridiculous outfits Ginny had made her purchase would give her the push that she needed. "I was thinking about wearing one of these tonight when I go to Ron's room."

Ginny's eyes lit up. "Oh yay! I know just the thing, too!" She reached into Hermione's bag and pulled out an orange bra and panty set with a sheer tight black slip.

"I don't know, Gin. I was thinking something less...intense?"

"Nonsense. Wear this. Or at least try it on. Please?"

Hermione sighed. "Fine!" She grabbed the outfit from Ginny and went to the corner of the room and turned her back to change. When she turned around, Ginny looked at her with a smirk. "I think Ron might just lose it on the spot. Here, put your robe on and apparate to his room before you lose your nerve."

Hermione took the offer of the robe, but sat down instead of disapparating. "Before I go, I was wondering if I could talk to you real quick? You see, I'm kind of planning something."

"Other than apparating into his room in lingerie?"

"Yes. I know that you probably don't want to hear this because he's your brother, but you're my best girlfriend, so-"

"Just spit it out, Hermione."

"I want to try some oral stuff. You know, what you did with Harry."

"Why, Hermione Granger! Maybe George is right! It is always the quiet ones…" Ginny joked.

"Gin! I'm serious! Any advice?"

Ginny calmed down. "Well, don't do anything you don't want to do. If you're into it, it will be fun. Pretty much anything you do he'll like. Oh, and I don't know what you were planning to do at the end, but Harry really liked it when I swallowed, just to let you know."

"Ugh, Ginny. I did not need to know that about Harry."

"Yeah, well I didn't need to know what you are planning to do with my big brother tonight, but here we are."

"Point taken. Well, I'll try to keep in mind what you said. Wish me luck!"

Ginny just gave her a look that seemed to say she was not about to wish Hermione luck when it came to any sexual exploits she was going to engage in with Ron. Hermione grinned and turned on the spot, disapparating.


	22. Chapter 22

_Author's note: Warning! Adult content in this chapter! Do not continue reading if you are not about sexy times._

* * *

Hermione disapparated right onto Ron's bed. She was simultaneously nervous and excited about what she was about to do. She really hoped that Ron would be here soon, before she lost all of her confidence and went back downstairs to kick Harry out of Ginny's room and change into something more comfortable. All she knew was that she couldn't take much more of the sexual tension between her and Ron, and needed to do something to sedate it.

Ron was suddenly right by her side with a pop, and leaned up against the headboard, pulling her onto his lap. She leaned back against his chest and he put his chin on her shoulder.

"Ron?"

"Yeah?"

"I wore something."

"Um… nice? I know that you wear things... um, what are you talking about?" Ron sounded puzzled.

"No, Ron. I wore something tonight. You know, for you. But now I'm starting to think that it was a stupid idea and I should go change into something normal."

She felt Ron's grin against the back of her head. "Really? Wicked. Let me see." He encircled his arms around her and began to fumble with the knot at the front of her robe.

She stopped his pursuit. "It's just that now I'm feeling kind of ridiculous."

"Come on Hermione. Don't tease a bloke like that."

"Fine!" She jumped up and stood on the floor in front of him. With all of the courage the she could muster, she untied her robe. Then, with a deep breath, she yanked it apart and dropped it to the ground.

Ron's mouth literally dropped open. He scanned her body from top to bottom and back up again several times. "Merlin Hermione! I knew you were sexy, but this is incredible! What the… how did you…"

Now basking in the glow of Ron's obvious adoration of her ensemble, she put on a show, strutting forward a few steps and twirling around with a giggle.

"Bloody hell, Hermione. Your arse is brilliant."

"Well, thank you Ron. I'm glad you like it."

"Where did you even get this?" He asked, still unable to keep his eyes from staring at her pushed up breasts.

"Madam Malkin's, when we were there a few days ago."

Ron nodded, but then suddenly his features clouded. "When you were there with Ginny? Wait, but that means-"

"Yes, Ron. She bought some stuff too. Now let's get over that and move on to us."

Ron looked torn between staying with her and enjoying the view and seeking Ginny out to berate her for buying some skimpy outfits to use with his best friend. "Ugh. Fine. But you better make it worth my while."

"Oh, don't worry. I plan to." Suddenly, she felt nervous again. She was about to initiate what would be their first sexual experience together. Her first sexual experience, period. She hoped it was his too, although honestly she was unsure about how far he had gone with Lavender. She decided that she wouldn't bring it up unless he did. She loved him too much to care.

Hermione was filled with thrill and anxiety about the fact that she was about to do this with Ron. She was about to initiate sexual contact with her best friend since eleven. But she knew beyond a doubt that she wanted it to happen. Oh how she wanted it to happen. She decided that a safe bet would be to start by snogging him. She straddled his lap and kiss him full on the mouth. He responded enthusiastically, yanking her slip off, then looking down and ogling her all over again when he saw the matching orange lace bra and panties.

"Fuck, Hermione. You really know my weaknesses."

She wanted to clarify exactly how far this was going to go. She didn't want him getting the wrong idea. "Ron, just so we're clear, I don't want to go all the way."

He looked confused. "Oh, okay. Well, then maybe we shouldn't be sitting like this, because-"

"I didn't say I didn't want to try some other stuff."

He grinned. "Why, Ms. Granger, what ever did you have in mind?"

Then, without giving herself time to think about it, she reached down and grasped him through his pajama bottoms. He grunted, then gasped, "Oh, that."

She trailed her hand up to the top of the elastic. "Is it okay if I…?" He nodded enthusiastically, so she slipped her hand under his bottoms. He was hard. Really hard, but also soft in the way that his skin felt velvety and tender. Ron began to moan, and buried his head in her shoulder. She stroked her hand down, and he gasped. Hermione found herself wondering how big he actually was. Her hand had certainly journeyed a long way before it had reached the base of his penis. The thought both terrified and thrilled her.

After a minute of stroking him, she decided it was time to put her next step of the plan into motion. "Um, Ron?"

"Yeah?" Ron choked out.

"Can you take these off?"

He made eye contact with her and gulped. "...yeah. Yeah, alright." He shimmed out of his bottoms, and she was left looking at Ron's penis. She had been right. It was big. Not that she had any first hand experience, but from what she had seen in anatomy books and heard from late night gossip sessions in the Gryffindor girls dormitory, he was above average. She looked up to see Ron nervously looking down at her. "Bloody hell, Hermione. You don't need to study it like a book."

She smiled. "Just admiring the view. You're really beautiful, Ron."

"Beautiful? Blokes aren't beautiful, Hermione." Ron sounded like he didn't much care for her calling his cock a word that he probably considered to be girly. She rolled her eyes.

"Fine. You're incredibly… striking and manly. Is that better?"

Ron shrugged. "Eh, I guess that will have to do. It's nothing special."

"Ron, are you serious? It's quite large, from what I know."

Ron grimaced. "From what you know? So, er, fuck, I know I'm going to regret asking this. You've, er, seen one before?"

She decided she would tease him a bit. "Well, yes," she said in sarcastic tone, "And I've concluded that yours is the largest one yet."

Ron looked dejected. "Oh. That's okay, then. It's not like I love you any less. I was just hoping that this could be something we could learn together."

Instantly, she felt guilty about teasing him. "Oh no, Ron! I was just teasing! I haven't done anything like this before at all!"

"Bloody hell, Hermione! Why did you say that, then? My heart was breaking there for a second, I'm not gonna lie."

"Aw, I'm sorry love. I was just trying my hand at 'taking the piss', I suppose. Maybe I should stick to my strong suits."

"That might be for the best," Ron breathed as his face began to gain some color again. She looked down to see that he had gone pretty much limp during their conversation.

"My mouth can do much more than be cheeky, you know," she said in a seductive tone, hoping to bring back the mood.

Ron's eyebrows shot up. "Really?" He squeaked.

"Oh yes. Would you like me to show you?"

Ron vigorously nodded his head. "You know I love it when you teach me things."

For a moment, she stared down at Ron's impressively large member. _Well here goes nothing_ , she thought. Then without giving herself another second to over think things, she bent down and took him in her mouth.

Ron let out what could only be described as a cross between a whimper and groan. Hermione didn't think she had ever heard him make a sound quite like that before, and the thought amused her. She leaned farther down taking more of him in her mouth, and he fell back against the pillows. Taking as much of him as she could without choking, she used her hands to compensate for the rest of the space. It wasn't really that bad. In fact, she thought as she sucked and bobbed her head, she was rather enjoying Ron's reaction to what she considered to be a fairly simple act. Her bushy hair began to fall wildly in front of her face, and she felt Ron grab it and pull it back, eagerly trying to get as good of a view as possible. From what she could gather from Ginny and her other female friends at Hogwarts, visual things seemed to be a big deal for wizards. She decided she would indulge him and put on a bit of a show. Hermione stared up into his eyes and seductively swirled her tongue around him. He groaned.

"Fuck, Hermione. I'm not going to last much longer if you do that. Oh, Merlin. Can you take this off?" He asked as he pulled at her bra strap.

She nodded. Without taking him out of her mouth, she reached around her back and unhooked her bra, letting it fall to the floor.

There she sat in Ron's stuffy attic room at the burrow. Hermione Granger, in nothing but a pair of lace orange panties, sucking her boyfriend's cock. The thought made her feel so wild and free and alive.

"Urgg… 'Mione… not gonna last... " Ron moaned as her reached down to grope her breasts.

She let him go with a pop. "It's okay, Ron."

"Alright," he said, panting. "But move, then." He motioned for her to get off of him.

"Why? Wouldn't you like it if you were in my mouth when you…?" She had thought that most wizards liked that, but maybe she should have been more thorough in her research.

"Would I like it!? Of course I- but I don't know if you…"

"Ron, I want you to. It's okay." She set back to the task at hand. If one thing could be said about Hermione Granger, it would be that she always did everything one hundred percent. If she committed herself to doing something, she gave it her all, and blowjobs were not going to be excluded.

"Holy fucking shit, Hermione..." Ron was moaning and groaning now, gripping her bushy hair and thrusting into her mouth. A few more moments, and with his loudest groan yet she felt his release in her mouth. For a fleeting second, Hermione mused that Ginny was right; it didn't taste as bad as she thought it would. Focusing back on Ron she let him go and looked up at him. This part Ginny and her dorm mates had been very specific about. She looked Ron in the eye and let him see her swallow. His eyes widened with shock and lust.

He lay there gasping and panting, and just when she was going to ask him if he was quite alright, he breathed, "That was fucking brilliant."

"I'm glad you think so," she said cheekily.

Ron continued to study her with a look of wonder on his face. "You're a dirty girl, aren't you?" He said with a grin.

"I don't know what you mean, Ronald," she answered in a prim voice. This only caused Ron to grin wider.

"I knew it! It's always the quiet ones, that's what my brothers are always saying. The twins could never stop taking the Mickey that if I ever got together with you, you would be wild in bed."

"I'll thank you not to discuss my sexual preferences with your brothers, Ron. Or brag about any of this to them later," she added as an afterthought.

"Oh come on, Hermione! After all of the shite I had to hear for years about all of the pussy they were always getting, I can't even tell them about this?!"

"No, you most certainly cannot,"

"But-"

"No, Ron!"

"Fine," he said with a huff.

She turned and kissed him in an effort to pacify him, but what was meant to be a quick peck rapidly turned into a heated snog. Ron was grasping her arse and squeezing it, cheekily slipping his fingers a few inches under the waistband of her knickers, then pulling them back out. "Hermione, can I?" He pulled gently at her waistband again, obviously asking her if he could take them off.

She hadn't been prepared for this. While she had no qualms about touching Ron and making him feel good, she did have some insecurities about her own body, especially that area. She figured if she got Ron off he wouldn't be in the mood to do anything else, and she would be fine with that. Then again, maybe this wasn't about him wanting to return the favor and just focus on her. Maybe he thought that if he got her knickers off they would have sex. They certainly would be close to it if they were both lying here naked. But, she had told him that she didn't want to go all the way. She trusted that he respected her enough not to push that. However, there was also the fact that she had an overwhelming desire for him to touch her there, now that his hands were so close. Once again, she decided that the best policy would be to say what she was thinking out loud.

"I want you to, really I do, but I'm self conscious."

"Don't be. I'll say it again; you're beautiful," Ron said with sincerity.

Hermione decided to trust him, and stop overthinking everything. She nodded her head in agreement. "Okay. But can you put your bottoms back on? I don't think it's such a good idea for both of us to be laying here naked."

Ron looked confused, but then raised his eyebrows in understanding. He nodded his head and grabbed his pajama bottoms, wrestling to put them back on in haste. She giggled when his foot got stuck and he cursed. He was back on top of her in a flash, a grin on his face. "Alright, are you sure?"

She nodded and lifted her hips, and he began to pull her knickers down. As he was doing so, she heard him mutter, _"Bloody hell. Can't say that I've never fantasised about doing this before…"_ She giggled again, already starting to feel more comfortable. She could tell that Ron was trying extremely hard to look her in the eyes, but that he wanted to sneak a peek at her fully nude body.

"It's okay Ron, you can look."

He grinned even wider, and his eyes immediately shot down to roam over her body. She felt the instinct to cover herself, but fought it. This was Ron. He loved her unconditionally. And, judging by the look of wonder on his face, he liked what he saw. "Holy fucking…I can't believe this is happening right now…You're so fucking beautiful, Hermione."

She smiled. "Thank you, Ron."

He looked hesitant again, as if he didn't know if it was okay to touch her. Hermione decided that she would be a bit forward, because she honestly couldn't take one more moment of his hesitancy; she wanted his hands on her too badly. She grabbed his hand and put it on her center, right where she wanted him to touch her. Ron, however, gasped, seemingly marveling at the fact that he was touching her there. He began to run his fingers all over her, and she almost laughed when she looked at his face and he had an expression that was as if he had struck gold.

"Wow, Hermione. You're so...wet."

"Well, yes, Ron. You know, you really should read some of my anatomy books. It's a natural physiological response."

"I know, I know. I just still can't believe that you're this attracted to me."

"I am, Ron. But I should inform you that if you don't start doing something in the next few seconds, I will be very put out."

He grinned down at her again, but then looked unsure. She smiled to herself when she remembered what he had said about learning together. So, he had never done anything like this either. She grabbed his hand, guided his fingers to where she wanted him to touch her, and moaned when he made contact. "Here, just rub. I like it in circles, like this." She guided him until he got the knack of it, then let him take control as she tried to lay back and enjoy it. There was something so foreign about having someone touch her there. Not in a bad way; she definitely wanted this experience with Ron. She always had. The fact that they had finally gotten to a place where they could share intimate moments like this was both amazing and overwhelming at the same time.

"You alright, love?" Ron whispered in her ear, sounding as if he was unsure about how she felt about the moment. His body was now flush against her's, his mouth kissing her neck.

Hermione decided that she would just give in to the moment. To hell with her insecurities, her modesty, or the little nagging voice in the back of her head that was saying she was a slag for doing any of this. She wasn't. She loved Ron and her loved her back; even claimed that he loved her more.

"Yes," she answered. She grinded into his touch and moaned, and he grunted, probably surprised at her sudden wantonness. He must have taken it as a good sign because he sped up his ministrations, rubbing her faster and harder; probably rougher than she would ever touch herself, but maybe that was part of the reason as to why she was so turned on.

He started whispering into her ear again, but this time he was speaking with confidence. "Do you like that, Hermione?" She moaned and nodded into his shoulder. "Fuck, I love seeing you like this, you're so fucking beautiful, sweetheart."

She was panting now, and could not seem to form a full sentence. "Love...you...Ron…" she gasped.

"Are you close, love?" He asked. She bit her lip and nodded again. "Fuck, I love you so much."

That did it for her. His profanity had always turned her on, and that coupled with the emotion in which her told her that he loved her was enough to have her fall off the brink. She climaxed, more powerfully than she thought she ever had, as Ron continued to stroke her. She moaned his name, arching into his touch, and then collapsed back against the mattress, breathing heavily and unable to move just yet.

After a few seconds of her post orgasmic bliss, she opened her eyes to see Ron pulling his hand away from her and staring at his fingers in shock. "Wow. I can't believe I just did that. That was just about the sexiest thing I've ever seen, Hermione. Holy shite." She only smiled up at him, and pulled him down to lay against her chest, stroking his hair. After a few minutes, she pushed him gently, motioning for him to move. He looked concerned. "What's wrong? Did I hurt you?" He asked, panic in his eyes.

"No, quite the contrary actually. I just wanted to find something to wear. Don't want another case of Harry walking in and seeing something he shouldn't, do we?"

Ron's eyes widened and he nodded his head in agreement. He jumped off of his bed and journeyed over to his drawer, rummaging through it until he found what he was looking for. "Here, you can wear this." He threw her one of his old t-shirts and a pair of his boxers. Hermione smiled, secretly thrilled at the idea of wearing Ron's clothes. She pulled the shirt on over her head and slipped into the boxer shorts. The shirt came down to her mid-thigh and she had to roll the boxers a few times to fit around her waist, but all in all she made it work. Ron crawled back into his bed and pulled her against him. "You look sexy in my clothes, Hermione."

"Sexier than the lingerie?"

"Love, I'm not complaining about the lingerie. Feel free to wear that any time."

They closed their eyes, and together they fell into a rare peaceful sleep.

* * *

 _Author's note: I always imagined after they made it offical they wouldn't be able to wait too long before doing something to relieve all of that built up sexual tension through the years._


	23. Chapter 23

Author's note: Shout out to jroseley, who has been leaving me great reviews! I feel like you really understand my vision for this story and the meaning behind different parts that I've added.

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She awoke to the feeling of Ron's arms around her, and mused that she could definitely get used to this; waking up in his arms every morning. Hermione glanced at Ron's watch that sat propped up on his night stand, and realized that she had slept in later than usual. She supposed that she had better get up and wake Ron as well, considering that Mrs. Weasley was up and about now more often than not and wouldn't hesitate to wake Ron herself if he didn't arrive at breakfast on time.

She turned to him and gently stroked his cheek. "Ron? Wake up. We've slept in, and it's nearly time for breakfast."

He groaned in his sleep, and his eyes flickered open. A smile started to slowly spread across his face when he looked at her. "Please tell me that I didn't dream what happened in here last night."

She smiled back. "You didn't. At least I think you didn't, if we're talking about the same thing."

"Are we talking about you sucking me off and then cumming all over my fingers?"

She blushed at his vulgarity. "Those are not the terms I would use to describe it, but yes."

"Oh really? And what terms would you use?" He asked cheekily.

"How about… we shared an intimate moment together which made me feel closer to you than ever before?"

"Only you would describe it that way, Hermione," he said with a chuckle. Upon seeing the annoyance in her face, his expression changed. "I'm only joking, love. I know how you feel. I feel closer to you too. I would have only wanted to do that with you." She nodded her approval, and kissed him on the nose.

"Yes, well, so much for taking things a bit slowly," she quipped.

His eyebrows furrowed, and he looked concerned. "What do you mean? Did you not want to do that? Fuck. I pushed you into something again…"

"Ron! Of course I wanted to do it. I was the one who apparated up here in lingerie and your favorite color in bra and knickers form and pounced on you!"

"Bloody hell, woman! Stop it with the jokes! I always think you're being serious." A look of relief washed over his face. "What do you mean taking it slow?"

"Oh. Well it's just that I had this idea in my head a few days ago that we should take our physical relationship slowly, because of my inexperience and all. But I'm so comfortable with you now and I wanted to make you feel good. Also, I can't seem to keep my hands off of you."

Ron laughed. "Ah, so the tables have turned I see? I'm now irresistible to you, eh?"

She slapped his chest playfully. "You know you're no better!"

"Yeah, I know. A couple of randy teenagers, aren't we? We really are a pathetic pair, the two of us. No self control."

"Hey! Don't be so hard on us, Ron. We're doing the best we can," she giggled. He stuck his tongue out at her and she laughed again.

Then, his face grew solemn "Hermione? Did you notice that when you woke up it wasn't as bad as the other times?"

Hermione had woken up once in the middle of the night, but she could barely remember what the dream had been about. She had woken up feeling upset, and Ron had immediately wrapped his arms around her and rubbed her back until she fell asleep again. She hadn't screamed like all of the other nights.

"Maybe that's a good sign. Maybe that means that it's getting better," Ron said with hope.

"Maybe… I don't want to get my hopes up, though."

Ron nodded, sensing that she wanted him to drop the conversation. "Another thing is, when Harry comes up here why don't we bring up the two of us going to Australia on our own; kind of ease him into it. I don't want him to feel bad that he's not invited."

She hadn't considered that. Would Harry be upset? She supposed that in her head she automatically thought he wasn't coming. This was the type of thing that she only wanted to share with someone she trusted completely. Not that she didn't trust Harry; she trusted him with her life. But this trip would show a vulnerable side of her that she wanted no one other than Ron to see. Ron already saw everything in her and accepted her the way she was. They could have intimate conversations in a way that she and Harry never could. Hell, he had even seen her naked, hadn't he? That was about as vulnerable as you could get.

"Okay. I feel so bad. I never even considered that he might feel left out. I figured he would want to stay here."

"He probably will. He wants some peace and quiet, and I also reckon some time to snog Ginny without me around."

"You're probably right," she agreed.

Ron's face got serious once again. "But seriously, are you okay with everything that happened last night? I know you said you wanted it, but I just want to make sure it wasn't too much."

She was touched by his caring words. "Of course I'm alright. I'll admit that I wasn't expecting you to return the favor, but I'm glad that you did."

"And why not? I know I'm a bloke, but I'm not that selfish. It goes both ways you know; I wanted you to feel good too." She smiled and burrowed her face into his neck.

Abruptly, there was a knock at the door, and Harry's voice could be heard on the other side. "It's me, Harry. I'm going to come in in one minute, just to give you fair warning."

"Harry, you can come in now, it's fine," she called to him.

He slowly cracked the door open and made an exaggerated show of sticking his leg, then torso, then arm, then finally his head into the room.

Hermione blushed. "Oh honestly, Harry. That was quite unnecessary."

"Better safe than sorry, Hermione," said Harry.

She sat up in Ron's bed, and Harry must have noticed that she was wearing Ron's shirt and boxers by the way his eyes shrewdly traveled over her, but he didn't say anything. She really hoped that Ron didn't move the covers too much; her attire from last night must have been lost between the sheets and she really didn't want Harry seeing that.

"Listen, mate, before we go down to breakfast Hermione and I want to tell you something," Ron began.

Harry's eyebrows shot up. "Oh no, are you about to tell me that you two are eloping or something?"

"What!? No! It's about Hermione's parents!" Ron admonished.

"Oh, good," Harry said, settling onto the cot.

"We're going to go find them and bring them back. Dad's going to talk to Kingsley about the arrangements," said Ron.

Harry nodded. Then, he got that tired look in his eye that she had thought was starting to fade away. "Alright, okay, when do we leave?"

Ron and Hermione exchanged a glance. So he did think he was coming. Hermione rose from Ron's bed and walked over to Harry's cot, sitting down next to him. She took his hand in her's. "Harry, you know I love you."

Harry nodded his head, looking confused.

"But it's only going to be Ron and I. I'm sorry. This is something I have to do with just him."

Harry stared at her for a few seconds, and then he smiled. "That's fine, Hermione."

"Harry, please don't be upset-"

"No, really. It's fine. Of course I was going to come if you wanted me, but I get it. There are somethings I would only want to do with Ginny. I know that Mrs. Weasley wouldn't let Ginny go, and I can't leave her again. And to be honest, I wasn't thrilled about setting off on another mission."

"See? Told you, Hermione. He wants some peace and quiet," Ron said from his bed.

"Also, I wouldn't want to crash the honeymoon," Harry said with a smirk.

"It's no honeymoon, Harry! This is going to be a lot of work," Hermione said.

"Of course it is, but what about when you're not working? You'd best believe that the ministry will probably put you up in a five star hotel."

Hermione and Ron blushed and made eye contact across the room.

"Now I actually don't want you to come, mate," Ron said to Harry with a grin.

Hermione knew that she, Ron, and Harry would always be best friends. They had shared something together that no other person could ever truly understand. But, maybe much like she had accepted the fact that she had feelings for Ron which she did not feel for Harry, she should accept that she would have experiences that did not include him as well. For so long it had been the three of them doing everything together. Maybe it was just slightly different now, but that was okay. After all, if her and Ron got married, or had kids, would Harry be there for every second of their lives? Of course not. But her and Ron would be there with each other every single second, and maybe that was the difference.


	24. Chapter 24

_Author's note: Hey guys! I know it's been a week since I updated, which is much longer than I usually like to wait between chapters. I love to get content out there and I know I always hate waiting for weeks on end for updates on stories that I like. I've been super busy lately, but of course my love for writing fanfiction will never fade. Much love and happy reading!_

* * *

Breakfast had gone surprisingly well; there were no sudden bouts of tears, or even a strange reaction from anyone when George wandered into the room for a few minutes. Afterwards, Harry, Ron, and Ginny had gone for a fly, and even though they pestered her to join them, she had elected to stay inside and catch up on her reading. Without realizing it, she had wandered all the way upstairs to Ron's room and laid herself across her favorite sun spot on his bed. She really had been spending quite a bit of time in his bed lately; it was quickly becoming her favorite place to reside at the burrow. Not just because of the snogging that they did on it, but because everything about it was just so… _Ron_. From the orange quilt to the way it somehow smelled like him.

After reading for a few hours, she looked up to see Ginny strolling into the room, her hair a mess and her face flushed red and sweating from her fly.

"There you are! I've been looking for you. Why the devil are you up here?" Ginny asked, her breathing still slightly labored.

"Oh, well, I guess I just naturally gravitated up here. I like Ron's bed," Hermione answered with a blush.

Ginny grinned and leaped into Harry's cot, spreading herself across the entire mattress. "And pray tell, why is that exactly? Could it have something to do with what went on in here last night? "

Hermione blushed again. "That's part of the reason. But I don't know, I've always liked his bed. It's just so… _him_. You know?"

Ginny grimaced. "No, I don't know. And I don't want to know. But, because we're best girlfriends I'm going to briefly ask you how everything went last night. Feel free to not answer, or to answer in the most concise way possible."

Now it was Hermione's turn to grin. "Well, I suppose you could say that the mission was a success."

Ginny nodded. "And he was respectful and everything? You weren't in over your head?"

"Of course he was respectful! Oh, Ginny, he was so thoughtful of my well being, while also being so… _him_. Of course it was all great fun, which was all that I really thought it was going to be. But then there was this different layer to it that I wasn't expecting. I felt so close to him afterwards; it was so romantic the way that he was looking at me and touching me. He was quite good at-"

"Oi! I'm glad that it went well for you Hermione, but I don't need to hear about how my brother is in bed."

Hermione giggled. "Oh, come on Gin. I thought I was supposed to be the prudish one."

"If not wanting to hear about the specifics of what you and my brother get up to together when naked makes me prudish, then I reckon I'm the biggest prude there is."

Hermione laughed again. "Alright, I won't talk about the details anymore. But seriously, Ginny. It was amazing."

Ginny smiled. "I'm glad."

Just then, Ron and Harry walked into the room, sweating and smelling twice as badly as Ginny. Harry saw Ginny lying on his cot and grinned, rolling himself on top of her.

Ginny starting screaming and giggling from underneath him. "What the fuck, Potter?! If you think we're snogging when you reek this badly you're mental."

Harry smiled. "I don't think anything, love. Other than the fact that you were on my cot and I wanted to lay down."

"Yeah? Well get the fuck off of me. I'm not fooling around with you until you take a shower. Then, we can resume this if you like."

Ron, who had been watching the exchange with a look of pure repulsion on his face, finally spoke up. "Oi! Both of you get up and get out of my room. You both make me sick."

Harry jumped up and held out his hand for Ginny, pulling her into a standing position next to him. The two of them walked towards the door; Ginny flashing Ron a rude hand gesture behind her back on their way out.

Ron turned to her. "Who does Harry think he is, assaulting my sister like that in front of me?"

"Oh, come on Ron. You know it was all in good fun."

Ron's look of disgust faded from his face. "Yeah, I know. Just reckon it's gonna take me a while to get used to shite like that."

"Well, you held off a while before saying anything. That's progress."

Ron smiled and walked toward her, sitting down next to her on the bed. "So, what do you say? Do you side with Gin on the whole 'no snogging until you take a shower' deal?"

She smiled. While Ron did smell from his hours of fun with Harry and Ginny, she noted that he didn't smell particularly bad to her. Obviously, she knew that he smelled like a sweaty teenage boy, but there was something about a glistening Ron in front of her that she liked. "One kiss, then you really do have to take a shower." Ron sighed, then leaned in and kissed her full on the mouth. After a few seconds, he tried to slip his tongue in and she almost let him, catching herself at the last moment. "I said one kiss, Ron! Not a full fledged snogging session. I was serious, now go!"

He sighed in defeat and stood to gather his belongings to go to the loo. "Alright, alright. But be prepared for when I get back," he said with a wink as he left the room. Her heart skipped a beat. She put her book down and crawled under Ron's sheets, snuggling into his pillows and longing for him to return. Hermione laughed quietly to herself. How was it possible that she was this crazy about Ron? She wanted to be around him all the time; to talk to him, to touch him, to fall asleep next to him. Every time she saw him she felt a strange mixture of happy and aroused, like all she wanted to do was laugh with him and rip his clothes off at the same time.

Her thoughts about Ron continued until he was back, smiling his boyish smile at her with water dripping from his ginger hair. He climbed into the bed next to her and she laid on her spot against his chest. They were quiet for a long time; just enjoying being in each other's company. Just when she thought that Ron might have dozed off, he spoke. "George said he thinks that he might go back to the flat and start cleaning things up in a few days. Asked me if I would help. I said yeah, as long as we haven't left for Australia by then." His words were a lot to process all at once; partly because of what George was considering and partly because it suddenly hit her that there was a very real possibility of them being in Australia in a matter of days.

"I think that's wonderful Ron. I can't believe he's even considering it."

Ron shrugged. "I think being here has given him a few days to clear his head. He's realizing that he needs to take steps to move on."

She nodded. "It's going to be difficult for him, though. Be prepared for anything if you help him."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, it's just that he might feel a lot better here, but maybe going back to the flat will trigger everything all over again for him. Or, maybe when he's cleaning up Fred's things…"

"Fuck. I didn't even think about that. What the fuck are we going to do with all of his stuff?"

"You could always donate it, or-

"His stuff, Hermione." Ron was speaking as if this was a sudden revelation to him; as if he hadn't realized that part of what George probably meant by cleaning up was organizing all of Fred's belongings. "His clothes and his bed and...fuck."

Hermione rubbed Ron's arm soothingly. "I know, Ron. I know." She felt his body begin to shake, and when she looked up she saw tears beginning to drip down his face. He quickly wiped them and turned away from her.

"Ron?" She inquired, still rubbing his arm. "It's okay. Please don't hide from me."

He sighed, then turned back around. She scooted up until she was level with his head and pulled him against her chest. He was still crying, but it seemed as though he must have been holding a lot of his emotional strife in, because when she pulled him close to her he started to sob louder and soaked her shirt with his tears. They stayed like that for a while; him crying into her shirt and her stroking his hair and murmuring comforting words into his ear.

"Why? Why did this have to happen, Hermione?" Ron sobbed.

"I don't know, Ron. I'm so sorry," Hermione said as she wiped away a few tears of her own.

"I should have done something. I could have done more. There has to have been something that I could have done…"

"No, Ron. You did everything you could. This isn't your fault," she soothed.

Ron turned to look at her, his face contorted in anguish. "No! It is! If I hadn't left you guys, maybe we would have found the other horcruxes sooner. Maybe there wouldn't have had to have been a battle! Or if I had just been closer to him, had at least cast something to try to protect him…"

Hermione shook her head. "No, Ron. No matter how things played out, I think there was always going to be a battle. It had been building for years, and everyone knew it. Everyone who was there that day knew what they had signed up for. Fred was willing to die for it, just like you and I were."

"It should have been me," Ron said in a small voice.

Hermione paused, unsure of how to respond. She wanted to shout at him that of course it shouldn't have been him; it shouldn't have been anyone. However, she sensed that Ron needed to get out whatever he was feeling, and she was more than willing to listen.

"It should have been me, Hermione. I was the sidekick." Hermione started to protest, but Ron shushed her. "I was. I decided a long time ago that my life was Harry's. He could use me however he needed. I knew that you and I had enough information to make that kind of decision, because Harry always told us everything. We knew more than my parents; more than the whole bloody Order, even. I was going to die for Harry. I knew I would at least since fourth year when Voldemort came back. I thought I wasn't going to make eighteen. But I was okay with that. I really was. I guess I was just stupid to think that if I sacrificed myself the rest of my family would be okay."

"Ron…" Hermione said, her voice cracking with emotion. "Ron, that's not stupid. There's nothing stupid about wanting your family to be safe. I'm sure Fred wanted the same thing."

Ron's face hardened. "Yeah, but Fred didn't think his life's purpose was to die for Harry, did he? Fred didn't know all of the details. He didn't know that at the time we were fighting a battle that was going to be nearly impossible to win unless we somehow got close enough to kill that fucking snake and shoot a killing curse at Harry to top it off. No one did."

"Yes, well, there wasn't enough time to explain. Even though people didn't know all of the details, they still knew what we were fighting for. They knew it was going to be difficult. They knew the kind of wizard that Voldemort was."

Ron nodded his head in reluctant agreement.

"I thought the same. This time last year I thought it would probably be my last summer. That's why I spent so much time outside down by the pond; to enjoy the weather," Hermione said.

"That's why you did that? Bloody hell, Hermione. You could have told me."

She shrugged. "I didn't want to bother you. You had enough to worry about."

"Hermione, I've told you before. You could never bother me," Ron said.

"I know that now," she replied with a smile. "But please, Ron, don't blame yourself. Please."

"I can't help it, Hermione. This just isn't how I thought things would turn out."

"It's not how I thought things would turn out either, but in some ways it's better. We get to be together now. I know that Fred isn't here, but we still are. He wouldn't want us to feel like this. I bet where ever he is now, he's probably jumping for joy that the two of us are finally together."

Ron smiled. "Reckon he knows about that brilliant knob job you gave me last night?" He teased, nudging her with his shoulder. "Hey! That's one way around your 'Don't tell your brothers' rule! I reckon I can tell one of them after all! You're alright with it if I tell Fred, right Hermione? He would be so happy for me."

Hermione snorted. "Yes, well I think I can let it slide just this once."

"Brilliant," Ron replied, snuggling closer to her again.

"But seriously, Ron, don't feel guilty about any of this."

"I'll try to work on it, Hermione. I don't know if I'll ever truly get there, though."

"I have faith that you can. I'll help you. I'll always be there to help you, Ron."

"I know," he said with a smile.


	25. Chapter 25

Later that evening before supper, she and Ron sat together on her favorite cushion chair in the sitting room. She was perched on his lap with her book in hand, content to sit there as he absentmindedly twirled her hair with his finger, when he interrupted her reading.

"Hermione, Dad has just told me what Kingsley's answer is about us wanting a portkey."

Hermione took a deep breath; preparing herself. She marked her page in her book and pivoted so that her legs were now thrown over the arm of the chair and she could look into Ron's eyes.

"He said that all international portkeys are being delayed for at least another month, but because it's us he'll pull some strings and we can leave by next week. Oh, and Harry was right, by the way. He wants to offer to pay for all of our expenses. So what do you think?"

Hermione sat for a moment, a bit stunned that this was all happening so quickly. She was simultaneously terrified and elated at the prospect of being reunited with her parents. However, if she ever wanted to see them again, she was going to have to buck up and face her fears. This was a great opportunity that she shouldn't pass up just because of her nervousness.

"Alright... Okay, Ron. Let's do it," she said, sounding more sure than she felt.

Ron raised his eyebrows, seemingly surprised that she had agreed so readily. "Brilliant! So, I'll tell everyone at dinner tonight, yeah?"

Hermione nodded her head hesitantly. "Ron, do you think this will upset any of them? I'm worried about your mother."

Ron shook his head. "I told you, Hermione. Don't worry about it. I'm going with you, no matter what anyone thinks. I'm not scared of Mum."

"Well, maybe you ought to be. She can be quite scary, you know. I've seen it."

Ron shrugged. "I'm not worried about it. I already know I'm going with you, so it doesn't really matter what anyone else says."

"Okay… if you're sure."

"I am. And by the way, about... er… room arrangements. I told Dad that one hotel room would be fine for just the two of us. Didn't want them to have to pay more than necessary. Is that alright with you? Because if it's not, then I can try to get us a second one. Don't worry about it."

Hermione giggled. "Ron, of course it's alright with me!"

Ron looked relieved. "Okay, just didn't want to pressure you into anything."

"I don't want to spend any more time apart from you than necessary. And, we already sleep in the same bed every night, didn't you think of that?"

Ron looked sheepish. "Well, of course I did. But I don't know… this will be different. We'll really be on our own. I didn't want to make you uncomfortable."

"Ron, you could never make me uncomfortable."

Ron smiled. "Good to know." Just then, Mrs. Weasley called everyone to supper. Ron got the elated look on his face that he only ever had when he was about to eat his mother's cooking. He carefully picked her up and set her on the floor, grabbing her hand and hastily walking towards the kitchen.

During the meal, Hermione gladly took two helpings of everything. She had been attempting to put on weight for weeks now, and was glad to see that she was starting to gain some of her figure back. She had stepped onto the scale in the Weasley's loo on one of the first days they had returned to the burrow, and was shocked and horrified to see that she weighed just under seven stone. She had finally been developing a curvy figure towards the end of sixth year, and now she had gone and lost it. She smiled to herself when she remembered the not so subtle looks Ron had been giving her, his eyes traveling up and down her body, especially later in the year when she wore nothing but a white button down blouse with the first few buttons undone and her Gryffindor skirt because it had been so hot.

"Everyone?" Ron spoke up, interrupting her memory. Everyone sitting at the table quickly snapped their heads towards him. "I have something to say, and I figured I would just tell all of you at once. Hermione and I are leaving next week to go to Australia and fetch her parents. We don't know when we'll be back, but we're hoping it will be sooner rather than later."

While every other person at the table seemed to process and accept this information fairly well, Mrs. Weasley, who had been serving dessert, slammed the plate down onto the table and looked at Ron with furious concern.

"What!? Excuse me, Ronald?" Mrs. Weasley screeched.

Ron gulped, but faced his mother and looked her in the eye. "I said Hermione and I are going to Australia. Next week. To fetch her parents."

"No," Mrs. Weasley began, shaking her head. "I know you want to help, Ron, but no."

"We're going, Mum. Dad's arranged a portkey for us. It's all planned."

Mrs. Weasley turned to Mr. Weasley, a furious look in her eye. "What's this, Arthur? You've gone behind my back and willingly agreed to let our youngest son leave us again and go back out into that wretched mess of a world!? When we've only just gotten him back!?"

"Now, Molly dear, I only told Ron that I would make an inquiry to Kingsley. I didn't want to worry you for nothing if it wasn't possible."

"And yet, it's already planned now! Without my knowing!" Mrs. Weasley was angrier than Hermione had ever seen her act towards Mr. Weasley.

"Molly, I didn't think that he would set it up so quickly. He just wants to do anything he can to repay the kids for what they've done."

"Repay them!? So his way of repaying them is sending them off on another deadly quest, is it? No! I won't stand for this! I will not let another one of my children leave me! Why can't he send a few of his Aurors to do the job?"

"Mrs. Weasley?" Hermione spoke up, and Mrs. Weasley's head whipped in her direction. "It has to be me who goes. I did this to them. And, the spell that I used was so powerful and intricate that only the caster could lift it anyway."

Mrs. Weasley's features softened. "I know you need to get them back, dear. But there has to be another way. We'll figure something out."

Ron shook his head. "No, Mum. Hermione wants to do this on her own, and I'm coming with her. That's it."

Mrs. Weasley's eyes narrowed. "That's it, is it, Ronald? I can't stop Hermione, even though I'm terrified at the thought of her leaving as well, but I am your _MOTHER_! I won't let you go!"

"Mum! I'm of age, and I'm doing this. You can't stop me, so please just support us!

"I will not support the two of you living in sin for Merlin knows how long down there! Have you thought about that Arthur? The two of them are an item, now. Do you think it's appropriate for us to let them live together while they are there?" Mr. Weasley didn't answer, so Mrs. Weasley turned back to Ron. "And have you even thought about it? Where will you be staying, Ronald?"

"The Ministry is going to pay for us to get a hotel room," Ron answered, wincing when he saw his mother narrow her eyes.

" _A_ hotel room? As in just one? No. I won't stand for that, Ron."

"We don't want to make them pay for more than they have to. I don't see what the big deal is, Mum. Hermione and I-"

"The _big deal_ , Ronald, is that you two are teenagers! And worst of all, you're not married! It's not appropriate," Mrs. Weasley said, interrupting him.

Ron pressed on, though. "As I was saying, Hermione and I love each other. And, we bloody well spent half a year living together anyway. So what if we're teenagers? I'm in love with her, and she loves me too! This isn't just some sham of a relationship! We're going to end up together, the two of us, so why does it matter if we share the same room for a few days while we find her parents? I'm going with her to help her. And, we're staying in the same room because we want to be together!"

This declaration was met by a deafening silence as everyone stopped and stared at Ron. He looked around for a moment, then his ears turned slightly red. Hermione sat there, simultaneously touched and flustered that Ron had just shared the news of their all consuming love for each other with his entire family.

Mrs. Weasley's features softened. "Yes, well, maybe this isn't the best time to be discussing this. Your father and I will discuss it with you after dessert."

Ron nodded, sitting back in his chair and letting out a big puff of air. Hermione looked around the table, desperate for someone to say something. Finally, George spoke up. "Blimey, Ron, if you wanted some fun time with just you and Granger you could have taken her out to the shed or something. All the way to Australia to be alone with her? Just how loud do the two of you plan on being?"

Ron turned to George, a ferocious look in his eyes. Just as he was about to speak, Hermione did something that she hadn't even known she was going to do until it happened. She started laughing. It started as a quiet giggle, but very quickly she was chuckling quite loudly, and then she was roaring with laughter. Ron just stared at her in astonishment, while everyone else at the table began to be affected by her infectious laughter. Ginny was leaning on Harry, her face red as she attempted to catch her breath. Harry himself was chortling, and Bill and Percy were chuckling good naturedly. Even Fleur was laughing her pretty tinkling laugh. Ron looked around the table and finally gave in, putting his arm around Hermione and letting out a few chuckles himself.

"Sorry Hermione," George said, looking at her, "but Ron set me up for that one. It was just too perfect to resist."

Hermione wiped the tears from her eyes, noting that for the first time in a long time they were happy tears. "It's quite alright George. Even I know a good joke when I hear one."

George grinned. "Yeah? Well, maybe I underestimated you, Granger. Might want to take a page out of your girlfriend's book, Ronnie. At least she can take a joke."

Ron looked like he wanted to retaliate, but Mrs. Weasley jumped in to break it up. "Boys, enough. Finish your dessert."

Everyone nodded, and did as Mrs. Weasley said. When the plates had been scraped clean, Mrs. Weasley whisked them away with a flick of her wand. "Right. I want everyone out of here except for Ron." Everybody began to stand and quickly shuffle out of the room. Mr. Weasley stood, probably making an attempt to start his nightly work in the shed. "And you of course, Arthur! Good gracious!" Mrs. Weasley tisked.

Mr. Weasley sat down with a defeated look, and Hermione turned to Ron, squeezing his hand. He gave her a look that seemed to say don't worry about him. She nodded, and walked out of the kitchen, hoping to find her boyfriend in one piece when she returned.


	26. Chapter 26

Hermione wandered out into the sitting room, nervously glancing over her shoulder at the kitchen door. She couldn't hear a sound, which either meant that there was no yelling occurring on the other side of the door, or the much more probable explanation: someone on the other side had silenced the room because an argument had quickly escalated.

She sat down on the sofa next to Harry and Ginny, both of whom didn't seem to even notice her presence. Ginny turned and snuggled up closer to Harry, practically throwing her leg over his lap and slipping her fingers down the front of his buttoned shirt, whispering something in his ear. A huge grin spread across his face and he jumped up, almost knocking Ginny over onto the floor. He grabbed her hand and the two of them made a beeline up the stairs.

Hermione sighed, left alone in the sitting room. She gazed out the window, and seeing that there was still a glimmer of light out, decided to go for a walk. She made her way out the door and slipped her shoes off, content to feel beneath her feet the luscious green grass that surrounded the burrow. She heard an owl hooting off in the distance, and some ducks splashing around and quacking in the pond. She smiled, thinking to herself that she had not been able to be out in nature and thoroughly enjoy it without the threat of starvation or hypothermia in a long time.

Just then, she saw a movement just by the tree that signaled you were getting close to the ward boundary line. An animal, but it's movements were unlike any of the other undomesticated animals that roamed around the burrow. It was quick, and calculated. She froze, her mind jumping to conclusions that her eyes could not yet confirm. She took off in a sprint, toward the animal, tears already streaming down her face at the prospect of what she thought being true.

Behind her, she suddenly heard Ron screaming her name, and his voice was getting closer. "HERMIONE! WHAT ARE YOU DOING!? COME BACK HERE!" She kept running, though. Ron would see her stop in a few moments and realize everything was fine.

She was close enough now to see, and started sobbing even harder. "Crookshanks!" She shrieked, half sobbing and half laughing. Her beloved cat turned at the sound of her voice, and ran towards her, jumping into her arms. She seized him and buried her face into his coat and held him tightly, dropping to her knees from the emotion of it all. "Oh Crookshanks! I thought I would never see you again!" She said as she clumsily petted his hair. Crookshanks purred and nuzzled his head into her neck. She sat down fully on the ground, and began to sob even harder.

Hermione had believed her beloved pet to be dead for some time now, and had tried to accept the fact that he was gone. She had left him at the burrow when they had escaped from the wedding, but believed he would be in good hands because Ginny had promised to feed him and take care of him should she have to make a hasty departure. But when the Weasley's had to leave the burrow and seek refuge at their Aunt Muriel's, Crookshanks had been left behind. Ginny had confessed to her in tears a few weeks ago that she had searched and searched for him upon their return, but he was gone. Hermione assumed that he had ventured outside the wards and wandered off into the wilderness, unable to fend for himself due to the fact that he had always been a domesticated cat. But here he was, purring at her and licking her face without a care in the world.

"You brilliant boy, you! You've fended for yourself for all this time! Good boy, Crookshanks!" Crookshanks sank down into her lap and closed his eyes, and she stared down at him, stunned that after everything that had happened her cat had some how managed to survive the war.

Ron's screams were getting closer now. She could hear his footsteps. Suddenly, he was right by her side, panting and throwing his arms around her chest, as one would in an attempt to restrain someone. "Hermione! What's wrong? Whatever has happened, please don't run away! I can help you! If you don't like it here, I'll go anywhere with you! We can leave right now if you want, just please don't go by yourself." He was so frantic that it appeared as though he had not yet noticed the bundle of fur in her arms.

"Ron!" She sobbed, and he looked at her with terrified eyes. "Look! It's Crookshanks! I thought he was dead!"

Ron finally glanced down at her lap, and let out a sigh of relief, sitting down on the grass next to her in apparent exhaustion from his sprint to catch up to her.

"I'm sorry that I worried you, but I saw him and I just, I had to hold him!" Hermione said, feeling guilty that she had just made Ron believe that she was running away from the burrow like a mad woman.

"I've never been so glad to see this fuzzball," Ron wheezed.

"Oh, do give him a pet, Ron. He hasn't had any love in so long!"

Ron looked uncertain, but then tentatively reached his hand out and lightly stroked Crookshanks's back. Crookshanks gave him the side eye, but then glanced at Hermione and allowed Ron to pet him. "Good Crookshanks. You two boys are going to have to reconcile your differences," she said. Ron looked like he didn't much care for that idea but had enough sense to keep his mouth shut. Crookshanks must have spotted something to chase in the grass, because he made an attempt to wiggle out of Hermione's grasp. "Okay, but don't go too far," she said, not wanting to part with him just yet.

They watched Crookshanks scamper off, and Ron laughed. "What do you reckon he's been eating? Hopefully the gnomes." Hermione cast him a disapproving look but couldn't help but let out a quiet giggle. She leaned up against the side of the tree that sat facing away from the house, and Ron joined her, grasping her hand and squeezing it. "Bloody hell, now I've got cat hairs all over my hands," he said, rubbing his hands against the grass. She laughed and cast a hand washing charm that Fleur had taught her on both of them. "Thanks," Ron said, smiling at her. She nodded, but continued to stare into his eyes.

"Ron? What was that? Did you seriously think that I was running away?"

"Well what the hell was I supposed to think, Hermione? I look out the window and see you sprinting towards the border line like a crazed maniac. I didn't know if your anxiety had made you snap or something…" She was silent, contemplating what she would say next, when he continued to speak. "And, it's not like I wouldn't have deserved it."

She snapped her head back towards him, now angry. "What is that supposed to mean, Ron?"

"You know what it means," he said solemnly.

"This isn't an eye for an eye sort of thing, Ron! You were all but possessed! You don't deserve me leaving you when we've only just started out, when we've come so far to get to where we are...after all we've sacrificed...after all you've proven. You don't deserve that."

"You didn't deserve what I did to you." He sniffed, and she turned to see a tear trickling down his face. She shifted, throwing her leg over his lap, straddling him. She took his face in her hands, brushing the tear away with her thumb.

"Ron." He looked down in his shame and guilt, but she grabbed his face more firmly and made him look into her eyes again. "Ron, listen to me. We have to move past that. I love you so much."

"I love you too, Hermione, but I just think-"

"Listen, if you want to explain it to me, let's talk later tonight when we're inside and calmed down, okay?"

He nodded. "I love you so much," he whispered.

She nodded back at him, leaning her head against his shoulder. He traced circles along her back, and then said, "It's settled. I'm coming with you." She had almost forgotten what he had been discussing with his parents in the kitchen.

"Really?" She said with a smile.

"Yup. Mum still isn't too thrilled, but I laid it out on the line for her and she stopped screaming at me at least."

"What did you say?" She asked, curious.

"I said that I'm in love with you. That we sacrificed so much and wasted too much time to be torn apart now. That you're the most important person to me. That I'd follow you to the end of the earth if you asked me to, Hermione. Because I would. I would do it in a heartbeat. I won't ever let you go, now that we have each other."

"Oh, Ron…" She sighed, touched by his words. "I don't ever want to be apart from you. Last time it nearly killed me. I don't think I could do it again."

"You won't have to. I promise." And with that, he was kissing her forcefully and possessively, grabbing her hips roughly and grinding her down on him. She laced her arms around his neck and pressed her entire body against his, wanting to be as close to him as possible. His one hand slid up her thigh and under her skirt, rubbing her through her knickers, while the other one grasped one of her breasts. She moaned, and roll her hips in time with his touch. He broke the kiss abruptly, and leaned back to look her in the eyes, silently asking her if it was okay to continue. She nodded, and he slid her knickers to the side, finally touching her skin on skin. He began rubbing her like she had taught him to, and she began moaning his name, spurring him on. Then, he did something that he hadn't last night. He began to slowly trace her entrance with one of his fingers and she gasped, surprised at how good it felt. Without thinking, she pushed herself down onto him. "Fuck…" he moaned, "You're so tight…" She nodded her head against his shoulder in agreement, and then on pure instinct began lifting her hips and slamming back down over and over, rising and falling as quickly as she could.

"More!" She screamed, at this point not caring if someone back at the house could hear her. He obliged, and added another finger, and she continued to move at a rapid pace as he helped her by moving with her. "Oh, Ron. This feels too good...I think I'm going to…"

"That's it, Hermione," Ron whispered in her ear. "I want you to feel good. I want to show you how much I love you. I only ever want to make you feel good."

She was fighting to hold off, but at the same time she couldn't stop herself from continuing to move in this way that felt so natural and primal. Surely they could stay in this moment forever, loving each other under the seclusion of this tree and surrounded by the beauty that was dusk, far away from the reality of grief that resided in the house.

Her attempts at making the moment last were futile, so she gave in and let out a sob of happiness as she climaxed, overwhelmed by the intimacy of it all. He hugged her and kept his fingers there until she stilled.

She began to cry. Ron looked at her, startled, but she smiled at him and just let the tears flow. His face looked more and more alarmed, until she mustered up some energy to speak. "I'm fine, Ron. That was just so…" She trailed off, unable to form a coherent sentence at the moment.

He looked at her for a second as if she were crazy, but then smiled. "Is this some barmy woman thing that I won't ever understand?"

She chuckled, but then tried to voice her feelings again. "That was so beautiful, Ron."

He was beaming at her now. "You're right, Hermione. You deserve beautiful."

Just then, Mrs. Weasley could be heard calling their names from the house. Hermione sighed. "I don't think I can move," she said, only half joking.

"So don't," Ron replied, rolling her to the side gently, standing up, and then bending back down to easily scoop her up into his arms. She wrapped her arms around his neck and leaned her head against his chest as he slowly walked them back to the house.

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 _Author's note: I've always wondered what became of Crookshanks, and like to think that Hermione was reunited with him. I wanted to portray some of their raw emotions in this chapter, and how they have a whole knew way of dealing with it now that they are together._


	27. Chapter 27

_Author's note: Hey everyone, thanks for continuing to follow my story! This update has taken me a while to post, but with good reason. It took me FOREVER to write this chapter. I maticulously went over details from the book again and again for hours to try to include everything that I wanted to. Once again, thanks for reading. I used to write fanfiction just for myself (I know, total nerd), but I'm glad that I decided to put my work out there even though I was nervous to do so. You guys make my day!_

* * *

When they reached the porch steps, Hermione made to wiggle out of Ron's grasp, but he held her tight, not letting her go. "I don't think so, Hermione," he said with a smirk, "I'll be giving you an escort all the way back upstairs."

"But Ron! Your mother only just reluctantly agreed to support us traveling out of the country together! I don't think we need to push our luck by having her see you carrying me upstairs to your bedroom!"

Ron only shrugged. "I don't really give a flying fuck about who sees. I told you I would carry you and I'm going to." He looked down at her with a playful smile on his face. She knew that if she got serious and actually ordered him to let her go, he would do it in a second; he was just playing with her.

"Fine, if you must," she agreed. Ron nodded, and proceeded up the porch steps and through the back door. Of all people, of course George was sitting on the sofa. He took one look at them and a sly smile slid onto his face.

"Stub a toe out there, Granger?" He asked with a smirk.

"Piss off, George. What, a man can't carry his girlfriend without there being a bleeding inquisition around here now?" Ron asked in an irritated tone.

This only caused George to grin even more. "Of course you can, Ronniekins. You might want to watch how that looks in front of Mum, though. If I didn't know any better I'd say you were dashing upstairs to ravish our dear Hermione," George said with a wink in her direction. Hermione blushed. She hoped it wasn't obvious that he had actually done just that out in the backyard.

"Oi! Don't wink at her!" Ron shouted, catching their interaction.

"Oh calm down, Ron. I'm only having a bit of fun."

"Yeah? Well find someone other than my girlfriend to be the butt of your jokes, why don't you?"

George merely smirked again, and returned to his firewhiskey.

Ron shot George another menacing look and continued their trek. He began the long ascent up the staircase, and she once again offered to be put down. "Ron, you don't have to carry me up all of the flights of stairs. I can walk on my own."

He shook his head, laughing. "It's not difficult for me, Hermione. You're light as a feather; honestly." She finally gave up and leaned back against his chest, smiling.

If she was being honest, there was some girly instinct inside of her that loved his being able to carry her with ease. It made him seem strong and her feel protected. She decided that she would tell him. She needed to start making a habit of doing that; telling Ron things that she admired about him instead of just thinking them in her head.

"You're so strong, Ron," she said in admiration. He puffed out his chest and shrugged, as if it were no big deal that he was so utterly strapping. She saw him trying to hide a grin, though.

They reached Ginny's door, which stood slightly cracked open, and this time Hermione really did want to be put down. She needed to change into her pajamas and prepare for bed.

"Ron? Put me down here. I want to fetch my things for bed."

He nodded, and set her down gently. She turned and reached for Ginny's door knob, leaning in to kiss Ron before she entered the room. As the door swung open and she moved closer to Ron's waiting lips, to her horror she saw out of the corner of her eye a topless Ginny straddling Harry on her bed, snogging him furiously, with her hands attempting to unbuckle his belt. Hermione yelped, and on instinct grasped Ron by the shoulders, pushing him backwards out of the doorway as hard as she could. He only stumbled back a few steps, eyes blinking open in surprise.

"Hermione, what the hell?" He asked, as she turned around and slammed the door shut with a flick of her wand.

"Nothing, Ron. I um, I just wanted to snog you in private."

His ginger eyebrows rose in a manner that clearly stated he wasn't buying it. "Is that right? Out here in the hallway where one of my many family members could walk by at any second? Very private, this hallway. I've always said that."

She nodded and stood up on her tiptoes to kiss him, and he didn't object. He seemed unable to resist her, even in his suspicion. She laced her arms around his neck and backed him up against the wall. He responded back enthusiastically, picking her up and turning her in one smooth motion, so that her legs wrapped around his waist and her body was now pinned against the wall.

Suddenly, Ginny emerged from her room, wearing much more clothes than she had been wearing a few seconds ago and with a look of pure innocence on her face. "Oh, gross you two. Why don't you find some other place to suck each other's faces off than right outside my door?" Hermione only glared at her.

"Calm down, Gin. It's not like you own the hallway," Ron said with a goofy grin on his face. He leaned in to kiss Hermione on the cheek, and whispered "Meet me in my room," before he gently placed her down and walked up to his bedroom.

Hermione stood where Ron had placed her, with what she hoped was a disapproving look on her face and her arms crossed in annoyance.

"What?" Ginny asked.

"You know what, Ginny!" She said in an annoyed whisper.

Ginny rolled her eyes and walked back into her room, motioning at Hermione to follow her. Hermione turned and silenced the door. "Ginny! What on earth were you thinking!? Do you know how bad that could have been!? You're lucky Ron didn't see that, he would have killed Harry-" she glanced around the room "Where the devil is Harry, anyway?"

"Relax, Hermione. He apparated back up to Ron's room."

"Well, I've a mind to give him a good talking to. You two are taking too many risks."

Ginny shrugged, as if it were no big deal that she had been half naked on top of Harry with her door ajar.

"Fine, do what you want, Gin. But if Ron asks why I pushed him away from the door I'm going to tell him. I won't lie to him."

"Go ahead. Maybe he'll steer clear of my room once and for all. And anyway, he knows that Harry comes down here every night when you two switch rooms. What does he think we're doing in here? Skipping through a field of daisies?"

"Speculation and eye witness proof are two very different things, Ginny."

"I can take care of Ron. Don't worry about it, Hermione."

Hermione huffed, turning to her beaded bag to procure her pajamas and toothbrush. While she had always admired Ginny's strong will and ability to not care one bit about what others thought of her, Hermione thought that she was being way too over confident. Ginny was acting relaxed and nonchalant about it now, but Hermione knew that when Ron inevitably walked in on Ginny and Harry in a compromising position all hell would break loose.

"Please be more careful, Ginny. We really don't need any more trouble around here. If someone walks in on the two of you it won't end well. You're lucky that it was just me."

Ginny just rolled her eyes and shrugged, grabbing her copy of _Witch Weekly_ and lounging out across her bed to flip through it. Hermione sighed, and walked to the loo to brush her teeth and shower.

Upon entering the loo, she looked at the tub and decided that maybe she would draw herself a bath. She hadn't the time to do so in a while. The last time she had drawn herself a relaxing bath with her bath salts and oils had to have been at her house at the beginning of last summer, or maybe even in the prefects baths at the end of sixth year. Smiling at the prospect of destressing a bit, she flicked her wand to turn the tap on and plug up the drain. The water began to rush out of the tap and she waved her wand again, casting a charm that she had learned last year on the water to make it turn various colors along with scents to match. She began to strip down and caught a glance of herself in the mirror when she was fully naked, sighing in disappointment at her skinny figure. She really did look rail thin. Her body was marred with various scars and her breasts looked even tinier than what she thought they had been reduced to. Briefly she wondered how she had allowed Ron to see her naked body and how he had seemed to like it, but quickly dismissed the thought from her head. He had told her that he thought she was beautiful, and he wouldn't lie to her. She would gain the weight back in time. After all, it had only been a few weeks that she had been able to focus on her health again.

The bath water rose to the top of the tub and automatically turned itself off, and she stepped in, sighing in contentment at the warmth it provided. She leaned her head back and allowed herself to float at the top of the water, stretching out her small body to easily fit in the Weasley's large tub. Her hair splayed out and floated all around her, and she randomly thought that Ron would probably like to see her like this; her hair spread out at all angles as she laid in the water.

Abruptly, there was a knock at the door, and a male voice shouted, "Hey! Who's in there? I need to brush my teeth!" It was Ron.

"It's me, Ron! I'm in the bath!"

"Oh. Sorry, Hermione! I thought it was George in there!" Then, his voice adopted a flirtier tone. "Hey, why don't you let me come in? I promise I'll be good and just brush my teeth."

"No, Ronald!" She didn't need anyone possibly witnessing him entering the loo with her in there as well.

"Aw, come on Hermione!"

"Absolutely not!"

"Fine!" He said, sounding very put out. Goodness, he certainly was very randy. Hermione was beginning to realize just how much control she had where their physical relationship was concerned. Of course she had always known that women could easily control men when it came to sex; if some of the conversations she had been privy to in the Hogwarts dorms were any indication. Most of her fellow female classmates had a string of male students wrapped around their fingers. She knew that if she told Ron to come in here, get in the tub with her and shag her up against the tiled wall he would do it in a heartbeat.

And that was the thing that both terrified and thrilled her; that she had so much power over him, but because of it she felt like she had to be the one to keep them both in check, which was hard to do sometimes when part of her did want to tell him to get in the tub with her and shag her senseless.

Ron's loud footsteps could be heard clunking away. She wondered what they would get up to in his room tonight. Once again, Hermione supposed that it was all up to her. She really did want to try giving him a blowjob again; it had been great fun and she had some new ideas that she wanted to try out. However, she had a more important goal: to finally hash out what she had come to label in her mind as Those Horrible Weeks. The time in between when Ron had left and when he had returned. The only time in her life when she had been truly depressed. The only time when she really hadn't been afraid to die because she wanted to.

Ron was obviously still tormented by it, and until now he had been reluctant to talk about it and she hadn't pushed him. However, he had agreed to a discussion when they had been sitting under the tree, and she was going to capitalize on the opportunity. She had a feeling that their relationship would not be able to progress any further until they talked about this.

Hermione allowed herself to soak in the tub for a few more minutes, then stood up and toweled herself off. She contemplated apparating directly into Ron's room in just her towel and changing there, but she had a feeling that said towel would be ripped off of her body fairly quick and the important discussion she wanted to have would be forgotten. She changed into her matching long flannel pajamas, hoping that this would be her first line of defence against Ron's advances. He seemed to like her tight tank tops and pajama shorts, but maybe he would be less likely to pounce on her in these matronly pajamas. She gazed at herself in the mirror and decided that her attempt at appearing sexless had been achieved. Smiling to herself, she turned on the spot and disapparated, apparating on the landing outside of Ron's room.

Hermione knocked on the door, and it swung open abruptly, sending her flying through the doorway and into Ron's awaiting arms. He wrapped his arms around her and ran his hands under her flannel pajama top up her back, pulling her tightly against his chest and kissing her soundly on the mouth. Ron must have somehow shut the door, because suddenly his hands snaked their way under her bottoms and grasped her bum through her knickers, hoisting her up and slamming her against the door. When she wrapped her legs around his waist to steady herself, he responded by trailing sloppy kisses down her neck, heading towards the top of her buttoned shirt. She threw her head back against the wall and fought through the lust that was consuming her in a heavy fog. "Ron!" She gasped in an attempt to stop his advances, while somehow unable to stop herself from grinding her lower half along with him.

"Oh Hermione!" Ron groaned, apparently mistaking her saying his name in warning for pleasure instead.

"No, really Ron! Hold on a second!" Ron froze. She gently unhooked her legs from his waist, but her feet still didn't touch the ground, as Ron held her own waist tightly against the door. She wiggled a bit, and he let her go. She landed on the floor with a huff and began smoothing down her hair and clothes, looking up at him; incredulous.

"What?" He asked, smiling sheepishly.

"I wasn't prepared for an attack, Ron! For Merlin's sake, I had carefully picked out my outfit so you wouldn't do just that!"

"What, this? Ron asked, pulling at her flannel pajamas. She nodded. "How is this going to stop me?"

She crossed her arms, now very put out that her plan hadn't worked. "Because, I didn't want to dress sexy when I came up here! I thought that might deter you and we could talk."

Ron threw his head back and laughed, apparently finding this very funny. "Blimey, Hermione! It doesn't matter what you wear. I'm more interested in what's underneath the clothes, if you know what I'm saying," he said with a wink.

She blushed. "Yes, quite. Well, calm down a moment, you brute! We need to focus."

Ron nodded in reluctant agreement, strolling over to his bed and propping himself up against the headboard. She followed him, and sat on the opposite end of the bed, facing him. He looked at her with apprehension in his eyes, making her wonder if she was looking at him the same way. They both knew what was coming, and neither of them wanted to be the one to break the spell of sheer happiness that had transpired between the two of them for the past week. She turned to lock the door and silence the room, stalling for a few more seconds. To her surprise, Ron spoke first.

"Before we start this, I just want to say that I love you. I'm praying to Merlin that you still love me by the end of this, but if you don't I just want you to know that I'll always love you."

With that, she was already starting to cry. How was it possible that after everything they had been through he thought that she could ever not love him? What had that locket done to him? More importantly, what had he done that made him think that she would somehow not be madly in love with him by the end of this conversation? She scooted closer to him, until she was close enough to reach out and caress his cheek. "Ron, I'll always love you."

He broke eye contact with her, and looked down in apparent shame. "You might not."

"Of course I will." It broke her heart to see him like this. "Let's just start at the beginning, okay? You wanted to explain things to me. So, explain."

Ron nodded, forcing himself to look back into her eyes. "Well, I've thought about this and thought about it, Hermione. And as mad as it might sound I think that every fucking stupid thing I've ever done comes back to how crazy in love with you I've always been." She rose her eyebrows, but he quickly continued. "It's not your fault! It's my own fucking fault! I tried so hard to stop my feelings. Tried to deny them for so long…"

"Why?" She asked.

"Because…ever since third or fourth year...when I really started fancying you...I had it in the back of my head that you could never like me, with Harry thrown in the mix. He was Harry Potter, for fuck's sake. We were all friends, so obviously if you ended up fancying one of us it was going to be him."

She paused for a moment, taking in Ron's words. "I do understand where you're coming from, Ron. I can honestly say I've never had feelings for Harry, though. But I must admit that I sometimes wished that I did, in the past." Ron's face screwed up in pain, and he looked as if he was going to cry. She quickly pressed on. "Only because it would have been easy, being with him! He was always kind, while sometimes you and I got into the nastiest rows. But he was also boring to me. Don't get me wrong, I love Harry, but there's nothing like the passion that's always been between you and I. Even if sometimes we were mean to each other."

"I'm sorry about that, Hermione. I'm so fucking sorry for every mean thing I ever did to you at Hogwarts. I was a stupid immature prick. I would tell you that it was just because I liked you and I didn't know what to do about it, but that's no excuse."

She nodded. "I did some mean things to you as well, though."

He scoffed. "What? No way, not compared to anything that I did."

"Well, maybe I was just more subtle than you. I went overboard with the whole Viktor thing on purpose to make you jealous, and then I openly flaunted Cormac in your face because I thought it would annoy you the most."

Ron's eyes opened in understanding, as if this had been something that he had suspected for a long time. "Yeah, but you did that because of dumb shite that I did. If I had just grown the bollocks to ask you to the Yule Ball, or actually followed through on something for once in my life and gone to Slughorn's Christmas party with you when I said I would, you wouldn't have had to do any of that."

She didn't know what to say in response. In truth, she had been furious with him for both of those things at the time. "I will admit that I was upset, Ron. I thought that maybe you knew that I fancied you and you were just playing with my heart for fun."

Ron grimaced. "I would never have done that, Hermione. Bloody hell, if I would have known that you felt the same way…"

She didn't respond. She just sat there and mourned the time that they had lost; all of the happiness they could have had during their time at Hogwarts, if one of them would have done something about their feelings instead of tried to bottle them up. Evening walks down by the lake holding hands, Ron wrapping his arm around her on a Hogsmeade trip to shield her from the cold, snuggling on the sofa in the common room by the fire...

"Did you snog Krum?" Ron's voice was like a bucket of cold water being tossed on her, jolting her out of her fantasies.

"What!?" She sputtered.

"You heard me, Hermione. Did you snog Krum?"

"I don't see why that has any relevance to this conversation, Ron. Or how it is any of your business, for that matter." He just continued to stare at her. She sighed. "Fine. Yes, I did. I hardly see how you would have the nerve to be upset about that, what with how you and Lav Lav were wrapped around each other like a pair of eels for months on end." Hermione felt a bit bad about making fun of Lavender. She really was a nice girl, if you could get past the annoying constant ditzy behavior and squealing. Hermione thought she would never be one of those girls to hate another girl on the sole principle that they both fancied the same boy, but that's what it had come to.

Ron winced, clearly uncomfortable with her bringing up Lavender. "I only did that because...well...I couldn't be the only one who hadn't snogged anyone."

"And how had you known about Viktor and I snogging? I don't recall ever telling you and Harry about that."

Ron blushed. "Well, long story short Ginny wanted to embarrass me and made me out to be a loser who couldn't even get a girl to snog him. She said that Harry snogged Cho, and that you snogged Krum-"

"She said what!? I told her that in confidence!"

Ron pressed on. "-and I was so bloody furious that when Lavender threw herself at me I just went with it."

"You just went with it? So the next time that a blonde bimbo with large breasts throws herself at you will you just go with that as well?" She knew she wasn't being fair, but it annoyed her that Ron had so easily been able to separate the physical from the emotional. He had clearly been falling in love with her but at the same time was able to get off with Lavender without a second thought.

"What? No, Hermione. I never want to be with anyone else, now that I have you. It's just that I thought I couldn't have you, and Lavender was the first girl who had ever shown any interest in me. She was obsessed with me. Towards the end it was horrible, but I have to admit that I did like being someone's hero for once."

"You've always been my hero," Hermione said in a quiet voice, wiping away a tear that began to trickle down her cheek. "I've always admired you, Ron. I'm sorry that I didn't say it more often."

He smiled wistfully at her. "I wished you wouldn't have snogged 'ol Vicky. Wish that I had never been with Lavender either. Then we could have only ever been with each other."

She was suddenly annoyed again. "Oh, so now you're Mr. Romantic? It seems like you had no trouble fondling another girl for months when you claim that you had been falling in love with me! And I'm not sorry I snogged Viktor. He was an international quidditch star who wanted me! Me, the mousy know-it-all bookworm! I figured I was lucky that a boy actually wanted to kiss me! I wasn't going to pass it up on the off chance that years down the road the two of us might get together.

"Hermione, I'm sorry. If it makes you feel better any time we were together I was thinking of you."

"No, that does not make me feel better, Ronald!" She shrieked, appalled that she had anything to do with the disgusting displays of affection that Ron and Lavender had exhibited, or anything else that might have gone on in empty class rooms and broom cupboards.

"You've got to understand, Hermione! I still cared about you! Look, I'm not going to sit here and try to talk up blokes to you. We're actually rather pathetic. It's not a big deal to a bloke to do something physical with a girl."

"Oh, is that right? What about all of the snogging we've done? What about when I performed oral sex on you, Ron!? Or when your fingers were inside of me!? That was no big deal, was it!?" Hermione didn't care that she was screaming, or that she was being more crass than she would care to admit. She was livid. "Well, two can play at that game. Want to know something else? I snogged Cormac in the coat room at Slughorn's Christmas party! He snuck his hand up my dress and felt me up and I let him. It didn't mean anything to me either, but I guess you had finally driven my self esteem to such an all time low that I didn't care if one of the biggest womanizers at Hogwarts fondled me!"

Ron's eyebrows shot up in anger. "What the fuck, Hermione? You let that fucking tosser touch you?"

She nodded with a snide smile. "Yup. He touched my arse and my breasts under my dress. It didn't mean anything but I just went with it, so that's okay, right Ron?" Ron looked like he was about to explode. She was waiting for it. She wanted the reaction from him, suddenly itching to have a long overdue row with him. To her surprise, he took a few deep breaths to calm himself down and just stayed quiet. "I guess everything we've done together wasn't a big deal then, was it?" She asked quietly, now more sad than angry.

"Of course it was a big deal! I love you! I didn't love her. I'm not proud of what I did with her when I didn't have feelings for her, but I can't take it back. I know I'm pathetic, but at the time I thought I would never have a chance to be with you so I might as well take what I can get. You have to know that I would never take advantage of you, or take for granted anything physical that we ever do. I love you, Hermione. Properly. You're everything to me. Everytime we snog it's the greatest moment of my life."

Hermione sat in silence for a moment. She supposed that he was right; he couldn't take it back. They were together now, and that's all that mattered. "Alright, Ron. Just...you know that it's been a big deal for me, to do all of the intimate things we've done, right? I don't take it lightly. I love you, and I want to be with you, but all the same it's been a big step for me to do anything physical with you."

Ron nodded in seriousness. "Of course I know that. It's been a big step for me too. Probably in a different way than what you mean, because if you gave me the okay I would shag you right here and now, but because it's you. Every new thing we do together is amazing to me. I never thought we would have the time to do it, and now we do, and it's amazing."

"I didn't think we would either, I thought we were going to die out there, in those woods. I thought-" Her voice cracked. Here it was. The thing that she hadn't allowed herself to think about for months, because it was the memory that gave her the most grief and heartache. She started her sentence again. "I thought that I would never see you again. I thought that I would die without ever seeing you again."

Ron leaned forward, trailing his hand through her hair. "I'm so fucking sorry, Hermione. I regret it everyday. It torments me, but I reckon I deserve it."

"If you loved me so much... how could you have looked me in the eye and disapparated? Do you know how it felt, to stand there in the pouring rain and know that as you turned to disapparate it would be the last time that I would ever see you?"

Ron started to cry. "No, I don't know, because if I would have realized that I wouldn't have done it. I was so crazed with anger and jealousy, Hermione. That locket all but possessed me. It made me think things…"

"What, Ron? What? It made me think things too, you know. It talked to me."

Ron looked surprised, as if he thought he had been the only one that the locket had affected. "What did it say?" He asked in a whisper.

"It would tell me that I was a useless woman because I couldn't scrounge up enough food for all of us. That you would never love me because I was a mudblood and would give you dirty children with tainted blood. It told me that I was unattractive. That you were repulsed by me and you would never want to fuck me even when I was the only woman you had to look at. Then, sometimes it would try to convince me that you and Harry were going to attack me, because I was the only woman living in the wilderness with two men. It would show me visions of the two of you sneaking into my cot at night and raping me, taking turns and laughing the entire time." She stopped, unable to talk about this anymore.

"Hermione, you have to know that we would have never done that! Were you really that scared of us? You should have said something about it. I would have made Harry and myself take a bloody Unbreakable Vow saying that we wouldn't do that if it would have made you feel better."

"I wasn't scared. Or, I don't know, maybe I was. We were in such desperate times and half the time I didn't know who either of you were when you were wearing the locket. I guess I just started to miss female company and the locket fed on that by making you out to be scary men."

"I should have treated you better. I know we were out there roughing it, but you're still a lady. I should have treated you like one."

"I didn't expect special treatment just because I'm a girl, Ron. You of all people should know that."

"Even so, I didn't always treat you with the respect you deserved," Ron said. She merely nodded, giving him that one. "And Hermione, you have to know that your blood status doesn't matter to me. It never has, and it never will. In fact, plenty of times when we were in that tent I was daydreaming about us making it out of the war alive and you having my children some day. It doesn't matter to me that you're muggleborn. It doesn't matter that our kids would be half-blood. You're smarter and stronger and more magically capable than I'll ever be."

It felt good to hear him say that. She knew that it didn't matter to him. He had always worn his blood traitor status with pride. All the same, it felt good to hear him say it. She needed to get into the crux of the matter, though.

"Ron, can you tell me what happened when you were wearing the locket?" Ron looked at her, his face suddenly having turned a sickly green color. It was as though it made him physically ill to even think about it.

He nodded, taking a deep breath. "Alright...well the first thing that it really started telling me was stuff about my family. I don't know if you've picked up on this, although you probably have what with you being brilliant and everything, but I've always kinda felt like second best compared to all of my siblings." She nodded, urging him to continue. "All my life I knew that Mum had wanted me to be a girl. Even if she never said anything, of course she did. They stopped once they had Ginny. I always felt unwanted, just one more mouth to feed when really what she had wanted all along was Ginny. And then, when I became friends with Harry, Mum starts referring to him as her son. It doesn't bother me now, and I feel like a foul git for even thinking this, but it used to bother me, you know? I was her son. The son that she obviously hadn't wanted in the first place, but here she was gladly adopting this other boy into the family like it was no big deal. It's awful, I know. I'm happy about it now, that Harry has found a mother in my mum. But it used to make me angry. I felt like Mum only had so much love to give and she was rationing some of mine off to Harry. So the locket drilled that into my head on repeat. That I would always be overshadowed by my siblings and never loved by my own mother as much as Harry." Ron looked away, breaking eye contact with her.

"Oh, Ron. Why didn't you tell me? I wish all of those years you could have seen what I saw. All I ever saw was how much your family loves you; your mother most of all. She doesn't have a finite amount of love to give. She's the kindest woman I've ever met, and the things I've seen her do for her children… well there's nothing quite like a mother's love, is there?"

Ron nodded. "I know. I know that now. And I'm not worried about the whole sibling rivalry thing anymore… Fred's death kind of put the whole thing in perspective for me. Shite like getting prefect or working at Gringotts doesn't matter."

She reached out and grabbed his hand. "I'm glad you see it that way now." She waited, knowing that there was more to the horrible saga that was Ron and the locket. There had to be. She didn't forget the last thing he had said to her. The last words she thought he would ever say to her. _You choose him_.

Ron didn't say say anything else, though. He just sat there, staring down at their intertwined hands. "Ron, what else did the locket say to you?"

Ron looked up into her eyes, anguished. "It said things to me about you, Hermione. It must have known that would be the best way to get to me, because all I could think about was how madly in love with you I was. I guess since it knew I always felt second best to Harry, it started to tell me that Harry was going to get you in the end, too. That you would never take me, because how could you, with Harry fucking Potter right there in the cot next to you? I started to see these visions all the time, of you and Harry. Stuff like me going out to collect firewood and coming back in to find you and Harry shagging. I began to not know what was real. Riddle started telling me really fucked up vulgar things, Hermione. Like that Harry was obviously fucking you, right behind my back. That you were spreading your legs for him because he was Harry Potter but you never would for me, not even as a pity fuck because you were that disgusted by me." Hermione didn't know what to say. "And then when the two of you started getting all chummy over the sword, I guess I just snapped. You seemed to be so in tune with each other that it was obvious to me that you guys had fallen for each other. I know it sounds stupid, and I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have left. Even if you told me that you were up the duff with Harry's baby for crying out loud, I shouldn't have left."

"We can't change it Ron. I'm not going to say that you should have left, but I'm starting to get a better understanding as to why you did. If I was out in the middle of nowhere with you and Lavender, or some other woman that I thought you were in love with, I wouldn't have wanted to stay either."

Ron shook his head. "It doesn't matter, Hermione. I'm never going to forgive myself for the pain I caused you. Don't try to deny it. Harry told me how depressed you were."

"Alright, Ron. I was depressed. I was devastated. Is that what you want to hear? That I felt like you ripped my heart out and stomped on it? That I didn't care anymore if I lived or died because I thought that I would never see you again so nothing mattered to me anymore?" Ron's face became paler with each word she spoke, but she hardly cared. It felt good to finally tell him how much he had hurt her.

"Hermione...I'll never forgive myself… I can't even… the second I landed after I disapparated I realized what I had done and I started to cry because I knew I would never see you again. I didn't even care about Harry, or my family, or anyone. Hell, if we could have somehow left everything and gone off to our own little world by ourselves I would have gladly done it. All I wanted to do was be with you."

"Then why did you leave!?"

"I told you! I thought you didn't want me!"

They sat there in silence, mere inches from each other. She had all but straddled him to get as close to him as possible and yell in his face. When had that happened?

She sighed, letting her legs give out and settling herself onto his lap. "Ron, I forgive you. I forgave you a long time ago. I understand even more now. Can we try to go on from this day forward? You'll have to truly forgive yourself if we want our relationship to work."

He nodded into her shoulder, but she felt her skin grow wet from his tears. "Hermione, there's one more thing... "

"Yes?" She asked, wondering what is could possibly be.

"When I destroyed the locket… Riddle sort of… came out of it."

She gasped. How on Earth had Ron or Harry not told her about this? "Ron! How could you two not have told me!? That was valuable information! I was under the impression that it did nothing to fight back! You could have seriously put all of us in danger with the ways I had planned for us to destroy the other Horcruxes! I would have tried to prepare us better!"

"It's not like that, Hermione. It was just sort of… it's last act of mentally torturing me. You see, you and Harry sort of came out of the locket. It looked like you two but it obviously wasn't, although for some reason I was convinced that it was. You started saying all of the shite to me that Riddle had been saying for weeks… then you sort of…" He trailed off.

"What, Ron?"

"You started kissing. I mean, really kissing. Both of you were naked, and I thought it was real, and if I didn't stab the fucking thing I'm pretty sure that Riddle was about to have his version of you and Harry shag on the forest floor."

"Oh, Ron…"

"Don't pity me!" He shouted, hurting her ears because of how close they were.

"It's not pity, Ron. I am sorry that you had to experience that, though. I can't even imagine…"

"Yeah, well…" Ron trailed off. "I was weak, Hermione. I let him get to me. I left."

"The important thing is that you came back. And even after you saw that horrific image you still decided to stay. That's what means the most to me."

Ron nodded. "I'm going to try to put this behind me, Hermione. Not for me, but for you. You say that you want me to, and I'll do anything you ask me to do. I'd do anything for you."

"Do it for yourself too, Ron. You don't deserve to feel like this."

He looked like he wanted to argue with her, but he kept his words to himself, instead letting out a yawn. Hermione giggled. "Tired?" She asked, holding up his wrist and looking at the time. "Merlin's pants! We've been talking for hours! It's one in the morning!"

"Let's sleep then, yeah? We can sort more stuff out another time."

She agreed with a nod of her head, following Ron as he laid back against his mattress. Suddenly, she was exhausted as well. This conversation had been emotionally draining. Hermione hoped she hadn't made a mistake by insisting that they talk about things, but she didn't think she had. Ron's entire aura seemed lighter as she lay against his chest. This had helped him, she could tell.

Maybe it was okay that their romantic relationship would still involve arguments and some gloomy moments. Maybe that was normal. She had been afraid to bring up unpleasant issues, but had done it anyway, and here they were, still falling asleep together with smiles on their faces. They really were both in this thing for the long haul. With that thought, her smile grew even wider, and she allowed herself to lay in Ron's tiny bed with him, where they had shared their hopes and dreams and desires, and now their sorrows as well.


	28. Chapter 28

_Author's note: Hello all. Once again, thank you for the continued love. A special shout out to_ HeRonLove, _who I can only assume recently discovered my story and then proceeded to write a kind and thoughtful review for each chapter. How awesome is that?_

* * *

 _She knew she was about to die. She could feel it; was familiar enough with her body that she could tell it was about to give out. Bellatrix pressed her into the floor, the maniacal witch's full weight alone almost enough to suffocate her much smaller and malnourished frame, and the disturbingly crooked wand that had been used to torture and kill so many others about to claim another victim as Bellatrix held it against her head and shrieked Crucio for what felt like the thousandth time. Hermione felt very far away. The pain was a constant now. Had she been feeling this pain for less than a few minutes, or had it always been how she had existed; sprawled across this cold marble floor writhing in agony? Her mind went blank for a few moments as she was unable to focus on nothing but the pain, then the curse ebbed as Bellatrix withdrew her wand, screaming something in her face that she was too disoriented to understand._

 _Her greatest fear had come true. She wasn't scared of Bellatrix, not anymore. Once she realized that she was about to be tortured by Bellatrix Lestrange she had very quickly accepted her fate. No, her greatest fear was something very different: that Ron disapparating while looking at her with torment in his eyes would be the last she ever saw of him. It had come true. Now, she would never get to tell him that she was in love with him. She had been kidding herself, really, to think that she would ever gaze upon his handsome face again. That she would ever get to reprimand him about not doing his homework, or just sit in front of the fire across from him, trying her hardest to best him in a game of chess._

 _She stared up at the beautiful chandelier directly above her head. She didn't care if she lived anymore. She hadn't allowed herself to think it until this moment, but Ron was probably dead; killed by some snatchers. If she could just focus on the glistening crystals above her head, maybe try to count them, perhaps that would be able to distract her enough until death came. Then, she wouldn't have to worry about this war anymore. She wouldn't have to spend one more day knowing what it was like to live without Ron..._

Someone was screaming in the distance. The sound startled her, and suddenly she was able to move. She shot up into a sitting position, confused as to how the surface underneath her back had become soft. Someone was still screaming, though. Then it dawned on her: the horrible high pitched noise was coming out of her mouth, and she wasn't at Malfoy Manor, she was in Ron's bed at the burrow. She clasped a hand over her mouth, shaking and sobbing, her ears ringing from how loud she had been shrieking.

Slowly, Hermione lowered herself back down onto the bed with her hand still clasped over her mouth, not trusting herself to remain silent. She was shaking horribly; the rickety bed was squeaking in time with her convulsions. She couldn't control her tears or the movements of her body, and it took all of her effort to roll herself onto her side, grasping for Ron in the dark.

She couldn't feel him. He wasn't there. Panicked, she rolled further, banging into the wall when she didn't come in contact with him. "Ron!?" She shrieked hysterically, unable to form a coherent thought other than the fact that Ron wasn't here. "Ron!? Ron, where are you!? RON!"

He didn't answer. All she could register was that she was alone, without any proof that Ron was okay. She couldn't stand, though. She tried to sit up again, but was unable to. She weakly grasped a sheet and pulled it over her body, huddling against the wall and praying that Ron was alright, and that whatever was going on, he would be back soon.

Over her sobs, Hermione could just make out the sound of a door creaking open, and then the sound of a someone whispering "Fuck!" as he quickly shut it. Footsteps bounded across the room, and a heavy weight got into the bed next to her. The person circled their arm around her waist and she instantly knew that it was Ron, able to recognize his touch.

"Ron!" She cried, twisted and turning until she was facing him, clinging to his body and sobbing into his chest.

"It's okay, love. I'm alright," he said in a soothing voice.

She sobbed even harder into his chest, squirming to wrap her legs around his waist and encircling her arms around his neck to the best of her ability, wanting to be as close to him as possible.

"Fuck, Hermione. I'm so sorry. I had to get up to take a piss. I thought about getting you up just in case something happened when I was gone, but you looked so peaceful when I left that I didn't want to wake you."

Oh. Suddenly, she felt very stupid. Of course that's where he had been. Why hadn't she thought about that?

Struggling to control the shakiness in her voice, she said "O-of c-course, Ron. How s-stupid of me. I s-should have known."

She felt Ron tense in her grasp. "Rubbish, Hermione. Any reaction you have to any of this isn't stupid." She only tucked her head further into the crook of his neck in response, unable to speak again. Ron stroked her back and pulled her in even closer to his chest. "Hermione, I wish you wouldn't be afraid to let me see you like this. I know you said you're not, but I think you are. And what's this about being stupid? You're the smartest person I've ever met. I know that you're strong, but I reckon being that strong takes a lot of energy, yeah? So don't waste any of your energy on me."

Hermione thought that she was recovered enough to speak now. "It's not...it's not that I'm afraid of you, Ron. I suppose I just don't want to admit to myself that I've done a dumb thing."

"It's not dumb, Hermione," Ron said in a confident tone. "You could never do anything dumb, but even if by some miracle you did I wouldn't care. You shouldn't care either. I'm your boyfriend. If the man who loves you can't see you like this, then who can?"

She sighed. "You're right, Ron." She felt him smile in victory against the top of her head.

"Want to talk about it? Does it help you when we talk about it?"

She nodded, rather proud of him that he was voluntarily subjecting himself to talking about feelings in an effort to help her. "Yes. Yes, we can talk about it." Ron nodded back at her, so she tentatively began her tell him about her nightmare. "Well, it was all of the basics of what normally happens, only this time, you had…you had never been able to find us again...so I was just laying there thinking that I would die without ever being able to tell you I was in love with you…" A tear trickled down her cheek.

"Hermione…" Ron's voice sounded anguished. "Fuck. I knew it was too good to be true. I knew that this was going to follow us forever."

She furrowed her eyebrows, suddenly confused as to what exactly he was talking about, but then understood. "Oh, Ron! No! It was because we had fallen asleep right after talking about it! I meant it when I said I forgive you!"

"Even so, Hermione. What's that shite they say, about dreams having to do with your subconscious? You're still upset with me, deep down, and who could blame you?"

"I'm not, though! Honestly, Ron."

"Okay," he said quietly. He still didn't seem convinced.

She sighed, closing her eyes in an attempt to make the tears stop. Maybe she had been silly to think that they would have been able to get over it that quickly. Maybe Ron was right; maybe it would follow them for a long time. After their conversation though, she couldn't help but put some of the blame on herself. Now it all seemed rather obvious that Ron had been jealous of her and Harry. The envious stares when she and Harry had elected to collect firewood together, the furious demeanor when she fetched a blanket to cover Harry as he shivered in his cot, the heartbroken looks he kept throwing her way every time she mothered Harry by stroking his hair when his scar pained him. How had she not seen it? It was absurd to her to even think of Harry and herself that way, so she had just assumed that no one else did as well.

"I love you. Very much. Only you. You know that, right Ron?"

He squeezed her gently. "Course I do, Hermione. You've told me a bunch of times."

"But you believe me, right? I don't want anyone else. You're more than enough for me."

"Yeah… Yeah. I do. I really do. I love you more though, you know that, right? And you believe me?"

Not this again. "Ron…"

Ron sighed. "I guess this is one argument we'll never quite settle, huh? I reckon it might be a good one to start up if we haven't had a good row in a while, though."

She couldn't help but laugh. "Yes, I suppose we may never reach an agreement on this."

"Good. I don't want us to agree on everything. That wouldn't be us, would it?"

"No, it wouldn't," she agreed.

"Just try to relax, Hermione," Ron said soothingly as he rubbed her back.

Suddenly, there was a scratching sound at the door. "Stay here," Ron whispered firmly. She contemplated protesting, but realized that she was still incapable of moving much. Ron jumped out of bed, drew his wand, and cautiously walked toward the door. He flung it open, and she peered to see who was on the other side. She saw no one, but heard Ron chuckle.

"It's just the furball," he said, sounding exasperated.

"Crookshanks? Oh, he's so smart, isn't he Ron? How remarkable! He knew where I was! Do let him come in. He probably wants a cuddle." Ron nodded reluctantly, mumbling something about a cat wandering up to an attic where there were mice being the least remarkable thing he had ever heard of. Crookshanks sauntered over to her and jumped up onto the bed, causing Ron to let out an anguished moan.

"Just for tonight, Ron? I know you two don't get on splendidly, but we can change that!" She said enthusiastically.

"Er, yeah. I said I would do anything for you Hermione, and I meant it. Even share a bed with this orange nightmare."

"Ron! You don't mean that! Look! He's such a good boy!" Crookshanks had settled himself onto her chest, and was purring contently. Ron just shot her a weary look and climbed into bed next to her.

"Ron?" She asked into the darkness.

"Yeah?"

"Let's add Crookshanks to the list of things we'll argue about."

Ron chuckled. "Sure thing, love."

* * *

 _Author's note: I want to continue to stress the severity of Hermione's post traumatic stress. This was not just a little blip that she will easily be able to get over. She was tortured by Bellatrix Lestrange, who was quite possibly the witch most skilled in the Dark Arts to ever live. After all, she was trained by Voldemort himself._


	29. Chapter 29

Later that day, she sat with Ron on the floor of George's bedroom, attempting to help him organize Fred's belongings. They had gone through all of the clothing from his drawers, and she had come up with a system of piles; keep, throw away, and donate. So far, everything had been going smoothly. George had gotten overwhelmed fairly quickly, and she had suggested that he attempt to clean the kitchen, as the twins never used that room much in the first place.

"Alright! Let's continue on with clothing! The closest next, yes?" Hermione said in what she hoped was a cheerful tone.

Ron nodded with a smile, but she could see sadness in his eyes. She opened the closet door, and was a bit surprised to see how neat and organized it was. There was a divider right down the center, separating what had clearly been Fred and George's respective sides of the closet. Their dress robes hung in pristine condition, along with their dragon-skin coats which they had worn with so much pride. Her eyes started to water, and she stared into the closet for a long time, not wanting to break down in front of Ron when she was supposed to be his rock during this. Ron walked up behind her and put his arm around her, giving her a squeeze. She looked over to see a tear trickling down his cheek, and she leaned her head on his shoulder. They stood like that for while; staring at the matching dragon-skin coats so carefully hung up on the rung. The owner of one of them was clearly unaware that when he had hung it up it would be his last time wearing it.

All of the sudden, there could be shouting heard from the kitchen. Hermione and Ron both jumped, turning instinctively and drawing their wands. Ron grabbed her and pushed her behind him, and she rolled her eyes, wiggling around his arm and standing beside him again.

"George, I'm just trying to help you!" A male voice shouted.

"It's Bill," Ron said in relief. "He must have stopped by during his lunch break."

Suddenly, George was at the bedroom door, sporting a nasty look on his face. "Show's over, you two. I thought I could do this today, but I can't. You can leave."

Bill came around the corner, looking exasperated. "George, please don't go backward when you've been doing so well."

"Yes, George. Ron and I can finish our job. Really, we don't mind. You can go for a walk if you want, and we'll have it all done by the time you get back," Hermione said cheerfully as she reached for a jumper in the closet.

"No! Don't fucking touch that! He hung that up!" George shouted, charging at her. She dropped the jumper and yelped, startled that George would speak to her in such a manner, especially when he wasn't drunk.

Ron jumped in between the two of them, pushing George backward roughly. "Oi! What the fuck is wrong with you, George!?"

George ignored Ron, reaching down to pick up Fred's old jumper with what looked like tears in his eyes. "Fuck, Hermione! I told you not to touch this!"

She turned to Ron, at a loss for what to say, but Ron only had eyes for George. The younger Weasley stared daggers at his older brother. "Back off, George. Don't you dare try to intimidate her," Ron seethed.

George shook his head. "I'm done, Ron. Granger can be as giggly and chipper as she wants to be, it doesn't change the reason why we're doing this. I just need some more time. Just a few more days to sleep in here how he left it…"

"No, George," Bill said, shaking his head. "We need to do this now."

"We!? This is my flat! If I want to leave it this way forever, I can bloody well do so!"

"George-"

"You don't understand! None of you understand! The only person who would understand is him, and he's not fucking here!" George screamed in anguish, turning and darting out of the room. They followed him, and he grabbed some floo powder, screaming "THE BURROW!" Before he disappeared into the fireplace.

"He's probably going to see Fred," Ron muttered as Bill quickly grabbed a handful of floo powder and followed George. Ron then grabbed some powder for the two of them, escorting her into the fireplace.

They ran out of the fireplace, following Bill, who was hot on George's heels. George made a beeline for the back door, and took off for the path toward the orchard. Ginny and Harry, who had been cuddling on the sofa, shot up and raised their eyebrows in concern at her and Ron.

"It's George," she explained. "He's gotten upset. I'm sure he just needs a moment…"

She and Ron continued out the back door with Harry and Ginny close behind them. Bill had caught up to George and now had his hands on his younger brother's shoulders, shaking him and screaming in his face.

"God damn it, George! Let us help you! If we don't do it today, then when will we do it!? You have to move on!"

"Fuck you, Bill! I don't have to do anything!" George shouted, flinging his arms back and then pushing Bill backwards with what was clearly all his strength. Bill stumbled a few steps, but stood his ground, slowly walking back toward George.

"George, he's dead! He's not coming back! You're kidding yourself if you think that leaving everything exactly the way he left it will make it feel like he's still around! He's gone!"

George let out a feral scream and lunged at Bill, knocking him to the ground, and began to pummel Bill's face with his fists. Hermione shrieked and ran forward in an attempt to reason with them, however, Ron caught up to her easily and grabbed her around the waist, holding her back.

"Don't, Hermione. Stay back," he said in a serious tone. She struggled against Ron's grip but he held firm on her waist, so she was forced to stand there and watch in horror as the two brothers attempted to beat each other within an inch of their lives. Bill had gotten the upper hand, and was now on top of George, throwing punches left and right. Blood was spewing everywhere and she spotted what looked like one of their teeth lying in the grass.

"Ron, do something!" She shrieked.

"I will in a minute, Hermione. This isn't the first time I've seen them go at it like this. They need to get it out of their system. Stay back, though. It might get ugly."

"This isn't ugly!?"

All of the sudden, Hermione saw Ginny out of the corner of her eye, sprinting toward Bill and George.

"STOP! STOP IT, BOTH OF YOU! WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU TWO!?" Ginny screamed, getting closer to her brothers with each step. Harry was running after her, pleading with her to stop. Surely Ginny didn't think that she would be able to physically break up a fight between two grown men, did she?

Ron seemed to realize that Ginny's stubbornness and overconfidence wouldn't be stopped by mere words. He released his grip from Hermione's waist and pushed her behind him, bounding a few steps and making a leap towards Ginny, missing her by a few inches as she threw her body between Bill and George.

It all seemed to happen in slow motion. George had already thrown a punch that was meant to hit Bill, but instead it connected with Ginny's face, making a sickening crunching sound and sending her flying in an arch backward. Her body hit the ground with a dull thud, and she lay there motionless, blood beginning to stream out of her nose.

They all froze for a beat, and then everyone moved at once. George dropped down to his knees, grabbing Ginny by the shoulders. "Gin!? Ginny!? Fuck! I'm so sorry!" That's all he had time to say however, because Harry had caught up and lunged at George, knocking him off of Ginny and pinning him to the ground.

"Get off of her!" Harry snarled.

"Piss off, Harry! Don't tell me about my fucking sister!"

"She's my fucking girlfriend! Who you just punched in the face!" Harry looked as if he wanted to hit George, but instead jumped off of him and crawled over to Ginny, who had begun to stir.

George stood up on shaky legs, dusting himself off. Ron casually walked up behind him, grabbed him by the shoulders, spun him around, and connected a perfect right hook with George's jaw.

"Ron!" Hermione gasped.

George clutched his jaw and shrugged. "I deserved it, Hermione."

"But-"

"He did deserve it, Hermione! What the fuck is wrong with you George!? You fucking hit Ginny!"

"Obviously I didn't mean to, Ron."

"Even so," Ron began, advancing on George and looking like he was about to hit him again. Bill looked prepared to hold Ron back.

"Ron, stop!" She yelled.

"He hit a woman, Hermione! You proud of yourself, George? That all of your bullshite has led to you hitting women, now?"

"It was an accident! Let's just focus on Ginny!" Hermione shouted.

Their heads whipped in Ginny's direction. She was now attempting to sit up, coughing and spitting up blood. Harry held her head with a frantic look on his face. "Ginny, love, you don't have to sit up just yet."

"I'm fine, Harry," Ginny mumbled. "Just let me walk back to the house."

Harry shook his head. "No way."

"I'll carry you back, Ginny," George said, leaning down to pick her up. "I'm so sorry. I didn't even realize you were anywhere near us."

Ginny flinched at George's attempt to pick her up, and Harry shoved him away. "Back off, George. Don't touch her," Harry spat. Hermione had never seen Harry so angry.

"Excuse me? She's my little sister, and I'll carry her back to the house if she wants me to."

"Like I said, she's my girlfriend, and you just punched her in the face. I know you guys are her brothers, but I'm her boyfriend, and I've had enough of this shite. You're not touching her, and that's final. I'm carrying her back to the house." Harry glared at all of them, as if daring one of them to protest. When none of them did, he gently wrapped his arms around Ginny, who seemed to have become extremely disoriented. "You're not walking, Gin. I'm carrying you back to the house, okay?" Ginny only nodded, wrapping her arms around Harry's neck, her eyes flickering closed as she leaned her head against Harry's chest.

Hermione followed closely next to them, trying to inspect Ginny's injuries to the best of her ability and deciding what spells and potions she would need so as to best heal her. She opened the back door for Harry and he swept inside, walking toward the sofa.

"Take me upstairs, Harry," Ginny mumbled. "I don't want Mum to see me." Harry only nodded, turning for the stairs. They all followed, and when Harry gently laid Ginny down on her bed Hermione got to work, banishing the blood from Ginny's face and summoning a calming potion.

"Just as I suspected," she tisked as she waved her wand over Ginny's face. "A broken nose and at least two facial fractures." She saw Harry scowl out of the corner of her eye. "Ginny? Take this calming potion. I'm going to have to fix your face, and it's going to hurt." Ginny nodded reluctantly, taking a swig of the potion. "Alright, so we'll just wait a few minutes for it to take effect-"

"No, Hermione. Just do it now. I can take it. It hurts too much and I'd rather just heal it."

"Ginny, I don't think-"

"Just do it!"

"Fine!" Hermione aimed her wand at Ginny's face, and said "Episkey" in a clear voice.

There was a cracking sound, and Ginny screamed, clutching her face. Harry rushed toward her, but she brushed him off. "I'm fine! It feels better now, good as new actually. Don't worry about me." Her face was still pale and her eye was beginning to sport a huge black bruise.

"Fuck," George muttered. Hermione looked over to see him staring at Ginny with regret in his eyes. He turned quickly and fled from the room. She glanced at Ron and nodded her head, silently communicating that they should follow him.

"Here, Ginny. Just promise me you'll take some of this blood replenishing potion," Hermione said, summoning the vile and handing it to Ginny.

"Sure thing, Healer Granger," Ginny said in an attempt at a joke.

Hermione smiled, then turned and followed Ron out of the room, who had already begun to chase after George.

They followed at a safe distance as George all but sprinted down the stairs, out the back door, and down the path toward the orchard. Before she knew it, they were coming up on a sight that Hermione hadn't been privy to in over two weeks; Fred's final resting place. They were getting closer and closer, and she so desperately wanted to stop herself. She didn't want to see the horrifying sight that was Fred's grave. She didn't want to read the gravestone. She didn't want to automatically do the math in her head and once again be reminded that he was only twenty years old.

Nevertheless, there is was. The little gravestone that the Weasley's had spent so much of their savings on. It was odd to see Fred's name on something so dark and dreary:

 _Frederick Gideon Weasley_

 _April 1st, 1978 - May 2nd, 1998_

 _Beloved Son, Brother, Friend, and Twin_

"I'd like to be right there next to him," George said suddenly.

"What are you talking about, mate?" Ron asked.

"When I go. I'd like to be there next to him. So we can be together forever. Will you make that happen for me, Ron?"

Ron looked uneasy. "Well, who knows what's going to happen… I mean… Why are you so sure I'll be around? Not planning on doing anything too drastic, right?" It was meant to be a joke, but Hermione could sense a bit of worry in his tone.

"No," George said with an ery laugh. "I'm not going to kill myself, if that's what you mean. Thought about it, not gonna lie. But I decided he wouldn't want me to. He's probably cursing me right now for even thinking about it. There's still so much we wanted to do… We had so many plans... We were going to be bachelors together for a while, you know? Grow the store, make our money, shag an endless amount of fit birds."

"Er, yeah. Sounds like it was a good plan," Ron said.

George scoffed. "Don't let Granger hear you saying that, Ron," he said, giving Hermione a knowing look. "You're not cut out for the bachelor life. You're lucky you bagged our little Hermione. Trust me, stick to shagging just her," George said jokingly.

"Will do, George," Ron replied. Unlike George, Ron sounded completely serious.

Hermione didn't know what to say. This seemed like a private moment between two brothers, but she had a feeling that if she tried to leave Ron would insist on her staying.

"I'm sorry I hit Ginny. I feel like such a prick."

"Reckon you are a bit," Ron said in agreement. George merely nodded in response.

"And I'm sorry to you, Fred," George said in anguish, staring coldly at the gravestone. "I'm so fucking sorry. I know you don't want me to feel this way, but I can't help it! We had a plan, you and I! We were going to be best mates, through thick and thin! What do I do, without you? How do I learn how to live, without you!?" Hermione saw tears begin to drip down George's nose and travel a long way before they hit the fresh dirt of the newly buried grave.

Ron cautiously walked up behind George and wrapped an arm around his older brother's shoulder. She noticed that Ron was slightly taller than George now. When had that happened? It was hard to tell who was the elder brother, but it that moment it looked as though it was Ron. Ron allowed George to lay his head his shoulder while rubbing his back in comfort.

She turned then and walked back toward the house, wanting to give the three brothers a moment alone. Even though George and Ron stood on the earth and Fred lay beneath their feet, she truly believed that Fred was there with them in spirit. That he knew his brothers were standing at his grave, and that he was in fact annoyed at them for crying over him. Hermione had never been a particularly religious person; the most experience she had was being dragged to church every so often with her Great-Aunt Jean as a young girl. However, since the war she had become more spiritual. Because if she didn't believe in something, then what was the point of them doing all of this? It was possible that Fred was here in spirit. It had to be. There were things all around her that she knew were there but couldn't see. Hell, there was magic that inexplicably existed inside of her; something she couldn't see or touch but that she had always known was there, even before she knew what magic was or what it meant to be a witch. In her mind, of course Fred could be here with them. She had seen much stranger things than something as simple as siblings always being in each other's hearts.

* * *

 _Author's note: A couple of notes on this chapter. I was trying to get a lot of points across here, and hope that I succeeded fairly well. The number one thing I want to stress is that George is not okay. Not even a little bit. He'll probably never be 100% better again, but right now he isn't even at 1%. He's totally broken. The other thing is the tension between all of the Weasley siblings. They're grieving, therefore everything isn't going to be fun times and taking the piss. They're going to lash out at each other. Ginny foolishly throwing herself into the fight and getting hit in no way means that she deserved it or anything, but I was hoping to highlight her stuborness and overconfedience, which of course I love. Her strength as well, seeing as she can take a punch. Also, I wanted Harry to stand up to the whole "over protective big brother complex" that the brothers have going on. Finally, I know I took some liberaties with Fred's full name, but I figured that two parents who name one of their kids Ronald Bilius Weasley would have gone all out for the other kids names as well._


	30. Chapter 30

Hermione made her way up to Ron's bed and lounged across it, knowing that he would find her there. She felt numb. For the thousandth time she wondered why this all had to happen; not just to her, but to Harry, and the Weasley's, and Remus, and Tonks, and…

She tried to shut her brain off. It wouldn't do to dwell on it. She needed to focus. She needed to be there for Ron, because he was her best friend and he had lost a sibling, and she couldn't even begin to understand how that might feel.

The door creaked open, and sure enough, there he was, with his goofy smile and tousled ginger hair. She motioned for him to sit on the bed next to her and he did.

"How's George?" She asked, not sure if she really wanted to know the answer.

"He'll be okay. Went back to the flat to cool off for a bit."

She nodded, not knowing what else to say. She grabbed his hand in her's and looked down to see his much larger hand looking battered and bruised. "Ron! Your hand!" He looked down and shrugged. "Does it hurt? Here, let me heal it for you." He held his hand out with a nod and she healed it quickly, then grabbed it again and softly stroked his palm with her thumb. "There. Better?"

He nodded with a grin. "Much, thanks."

He leaned in and kissed her, and she gladly reciprocated the kiss, which grew deeper and more passionate by the second as he pushed her down onto the bed. Ron frantically began to unbutton her blouse, and she let him, enjoying the moment. She didn't want to feel numb and depressed. She wanted to feel truly happy, and being with Ron like this gave her an elated feeling that she hadn't known she could ever feel until the first time she had kissed him.

It really was great fun to see the look of awe on his face every time he took an article of clothing off of her. He had made his way to the last button and quickly flung her blouse off, then reached around her back and fumbled at the clasp of her bra. He pawed at it for a few seconds, then cursed. She giggled, realizing that he had never actually taken her bra off before. She arched her back up off the bed so as to give him better access and smirked at him.

He looked at her with mock annoyance. "Find this funny, do you?"

She smirked again. "Why yes, Ron. I do find it slightly amusing that a man who let's see… infiltrated the Ministry of Magic, broke into Gringotts, had a hand in taking down some of the darkest wizards and witches of all time… still somehow has trouble unhooking a bra."

"I see. Well, for your cheek…" He had apparently figured out how the clasp worked, because her bra snapped open and before she could register this, it was flying across the room and landing somewhere in the vicinity of her blouse. Ron wasted know time in staring down at her breasts as if he had never seen them before and grabbing them in his large hands. She sighed in bliss, content to just lay there on Ron's bed as he, well, for lack of a better term, felt her up. It was rather strange when she thought about it; how ardently she reviled in just the feeling of his hands on her.

"Are you okay? Is this alright?" Ron asked, and she realized that he might have been concerned due to the fact that she had been laying there as if she had been petrified.

"Yes! It's more than alright! Sorry I'm not really doing anything, I just love to feel your hands on me," she said with a blush.

He raised his eyebrows at her and smirked. "Oh really? So how does this make you feel?" He asked, as he slowly snaked one of his hands down and rested it on her belly.

She shuddered. "Good."

"Just good? That won't do. What if I do this?" His hand drifted lower, slowly unbuttoning and unzipping her trousers.

"Eh, that's alright. Nothing special," she said with a shrug. She saw the game he was playing, and her competitive streak was coming out. She wasn't about to let him win. "What if, instead I do this?" She put her hand on the extremely prominent bulge that was poking against her thigh. Ron groaned.

"No fair, Hermione. I won't be able to focus enough to tease you if you have your hand on my cock."

"That's sort of the idea, Ron," she whispered, as she snaked her hand under his trousers and pants and grasped him. He groaned again, and seemed to somehow grow even bigger in her hand as she began to stroke him. This being only her second time having contact with his penis, she was still extremely intrigued by it. She tested out a few variations of speeds and grips, but Ron either didn't notice her experiment or didn't care. He was leaning on his elbows above her, shaking and thrusting into her hand. It looked rather uncomfortable. "Ron, want to switch places?"

"Huh?" He asked, sounding disoriented.

"You lay down and I'll get on top of you instead."

He grinned at her and put all of his bodyweight on her for half a second, wrapping his arms around her and rolling them so that he was now on his back and she was laying on top of him. She shimmied down and yanked his trousers off in haste, then continued with her ministrations, and was a bit surprised when he seemed to have enough self control so as to snake his own hand back under her still unbuttoned trousers and then under her knickers. She moaned and rubbed herself sensually against him.

"Hermione…" He said in warning. "I'm not going to last much longer if you do that."

"Dear Merlin, Ron. I don't particularly care. It feels so good." It really did. Now she had shimmed out of her own trousers and positioned herself with her legs spread between his hips, and began to grind down hard into his erection.

"Fuck!" Ron cried, grabbing her hips and stilling her.

"What!?" She asked in a haze, confused as to what possibly could have made Ron stop her.

"I'm going to cum, Hermione! That's what!"

"So?"

"I don't know if you want me to all over you!" Ron shouted, his face turning red.

"I don't care! Come on, I don't want to stop."

He nodded quickly, then urged her to continue her movements by grabbing her hips again and sliding her up and down against his erection. It suddenly occurred to her that the only thing separating her and Ron were her knickers and his boxers. She could rip her underwear off and shove his own down in the next second and they could be having sex. Why didn't she? She wanted it so badly. Her lust clouded brain couldn't think of one good reason not to.

But then, Ron thrust up against her a few more times and groaned loudly, and by the look on his face she could tell that he had climaxed. Oh well. She meant it when she said she didn't care.

"Fuck. Sorry, Hermione." Ron whispered, sounding embarrassed.

"Don't be," she said sincerely, grabbing her wand and hitting them both with a cleansing charm.

"Did you…?" He asked suggestively.

"What? Oh, no."

"That's just not acceptable," Ron said with a grin, flipping her onto her back and once again going for her knickers.

"RON! HERMIONE! I WANT BOTH OF YOU DOWN HERE IN TWO MINUTES!" Suddenly, Mrs. Weasley's voice boomed throughout the house with the use of sonorous.

"Fuck!" Ron yelped, jumping off of her and falling off the bed.

Hermione giggled. He looked comical sprawled out on the floor in only his boxers, an agitated look on his face.

"What's so funny?" He asked, scowling at her.

"Do you really have to ask, Ron?"

"Hermione, no one needs to hear their mum's voice when they're in the middle of doing what we were just doing."

She laughed again, while thinking with a stab of pain that she would give anything to hear her own mother's voice right now. "Let's go. I don't think she would hesitate to come up here." Ron paled and jumped up, scrambling to put his clothes back on while she began to search for her own clothing.

Hermione looked over to see Ron fully dressed, grinning at her. She suddenly realized that he was being afforded a look of her almost completely nude body, and quickly crossed her arms over her breasts. It felt different like this; with him fully dressed and her standing at a perfect distance for examination in broad daylight. "Ron! What are you doing!?"

"Enjoying the view," he replied matter of factly.

"Turn around!"

"Why?" He asked, sounding genuinely confused.

"Because! It's different like this! There's too much light in here, and I look a lot different standing up than I do laying flat. I'm much too skinny, and-"

"Hermione, what the hell are you on about now?"

"You're getting a view that I'd rather you not see."

If possible, Ron looked even more confused. "I won't pretend to know what you're talking about, Hermione, but if you don't want me to look-"

"No, it's okay. You can. I'm sorry." She felt stupid again. Why was she so worried about Ron of all people judging her?

"Don't apologize. I just really don't bloody understand what you're on about."

"I'm embarrassed, alright? Embarrassed about what's become of my body. I used to actually look like a woman, and now I have no curves and… and...I haven't even gotten my period in five months! Some woman I am."

Ron stared at her for a second, looking like he was contemplating how to respond. "Hermione, you are too a woman. I would know. Um… I don't know too much about that other stuff, though. Isn't that not normal?"

"Of course it's not normal, Ron! It's unhealthy! It happened to me because of how malnourished and underweight I became, coupled with stress and trauma, I'm assuming. Well, let's hope that's what it is. Who knows? Maybe Bellatrix made me barren," she added nonchalantly, breaking his gaze and turning her head to look at the wall.

"Hermione…" Ron said cautiously, walking toward her and wrapping his arms around her. "I'm sorry. Maybe… I know you said you don't want to go to a healer, but-"

"Don't, Ron."

"Fine," he sighed. "Maybe you could talk to Ginny or Fleur about this? Maybe they've experienced something similar?"

That actually wasn't a bad idea; maybe she would. Then again, how could two of the most beautiful women she had ever known relate to her feelings of loss of femininity?

"I'll think about it Ron."

"Good," he said, advancing toward her. She crossed her arms over her chest again, but he wasn't even looking there; he was staring at her directly in the eyes. "I wish you could see yourself the way I do," he said, and hugged her. She hugged him back, and even though she was topless, it didn't feel sexual. It just felt loving. It felt like Ron; her best friend.

"RONALD WEASLEY AND HERMIONE GRANGER, IF YOU ARE NOT DOWN HERE IN TEN SECONDS-"

"Fuck! Here, Hermione!" Ron shouted, as he located her bra and blouse and threw them at her. She grabbed them quickly and redressed.

"You disapparate to the shed and walk in the back door, I'll go down the stairs," she said quickly.

He nodded once, then grabbed his wand and was gone with a crack. She turned and disapparated as well, landing on the bottom step of the staircase. She tried to sport an innocent look on her face, and proceeded to the kitchen, where the rest of the family was already seated.

Ron was just walking in through the back door.

"And where, exactly, have you two been!? I called for both of you! I expect you to come!" Mrs. Weasley shouted.

"Sorry, Mum. I was just tinkering with some stuff in the shed."

"I'm sorry too, Mrs. Weasley. I was reading…"

Mrs. Weasley already looked well past her anger, humming and dipping a spoon into a pot of sauce to taste it. "Yes, well, it's alright dears, just don't give me such a fright again. I was about to send out a search party… Alright, we can tuck in. Ginny says she isn't feeling well, the poor thing. I'll bring something up to her afterward."

Supper was delicious as always; it seemed that Mrs. Weasley never ceased to be able to out do herself where cooking was concerned. Hermione volunteered to bring Ginny's food up to her, seeing as Ginny probably still didn't want Mrs. Weasley to see her. She cautiously knocked on Ginny's door, and Ginny yelled for her to come in.

"How are you feeling, Ginny?"

"I'm fine. I just need to find a way to cover up this black eye. Do you know any beauty charms? I for one rather like the way it looks, but Mum will throw a fit if she sees it."

"Um, yes. I do know a few." She didn't add that she had meticulously scoured charm books in the Hogwarts library in search for beauty charms before the Yule Ball, or that she had pulled a few of Fleur's Veela cousins aside before the wedding last summer and asked them for some tips and tricks in an attempt to impress Ron. "I can conceal it," she said, as she raised her wand and ran it over Ginny's face, pleased to see the black and blue bruise fade away from her eye. "You'll probably need me to do it again by tomorrow morning."

"So, any plans for tomorrow?" Ginny asked, abruptly changing topics.

"Well, I was thinking about starting to pack for Australia. You can never be too prepared, you know-"

"That's great, Hermione. Listen, Mum's going to Bill and Fleur's tomorrow. Let's brew that potion. Besides, don't you want it before you and Ron leave?"

Hermione nodded. "I think you're right, Ginny. We should."

Ginny looked surprised. "Really? No prim and proper facade before you eventually give in?"

"It's not a facade."

"Uh huh, sure."

"But anyway, um, Gin? Can I ask you something?"

"Sure," Ginny said, looking up in interest.

"Have you… did you… I don't know what I'm trying to say, exactly."

"What, Hermione? You can ask me anything."

"It's just that during the war I lost so much weight, and I have so many scars, and I stopped getting my period...I don't know. I know it sounds ridiculous, but I feel like somewhere along the way I lost part of my womanhood."

Ginny nodded seriously. "That's not stupid. I know I grew up with six brothers, but sometimes I like being feminine. Mostly being a woman is a pain in the arse, but it's not like I want to wish my tits away. Harry likes them too much," she added with a wink. "Oh, and I haven't gotten my period in a few months either. I think it's all the stress."

"I hope that's what my situation is as well. Maybe the potion can help us get our cycles back on track."

"Yeah, and it also won't hurt having it if you feel like a quick shag with Ron as well."

"Ginny!"

"Ah, there's the prim and proper act, right on schedule."

"Yes, well, I'm going to Ron's room now. Let me know if you need anything."

"Wait, Hermione. I'm sorry. I know how you must feel, and I'm so sorry. It's shitty but it's just going to take some time for all of us to get back to some sort of normal."

"Thanks, Gin. Goodnight."

"'night, Hermione. Love you."

"Love you too, Ginny. Just call me if you need anything."

Ginny nodded, and Hermione made to exit the room, only to run straight into Harry. "Hello, Harry," Hermione said, suddenly feeling the urge to give him a hug. Ginny was right; it would take a long time to get back to normal, if there were even such a thing as normal anymore. However, weren't they lucky that they were still here? That Harry had actually made it? That after everything, she could still give him a hug?

"Hey, Hermione...er what's up?" Harry asked, peering down at her in confusion.

"Nothing. I just… I'm so glad that you're okay, and I love you very much."

Harry glanced over at Ginny in question, who only shrugged. He awkwardly patted the top of her head. "I love you too, Hermione."

She pulled away from him, a tear in her eye, and smiled. "Right! Well, I'm off to Ron's room. Don't hesitate to call for me if Ginny needs anything." Harry nodded, looking more confused than ever, as she walked out the door and up to Ron's room.

Ron must have been in the loo, because he wasn't in his room when she entered it. She didn't mind though; she would just snuggle up in his bed and wait for him. Hermione got under the covers, and stared up at the ceiling. Her mind began to wander, and she fleetingly hoped that they would stay up talking all night tonight, then she wouldn't have to sleep.

Hermione caught herself, then. She sighed out loud. She was still doing it; still hoping for the possibility of no sleep. That couldn't be healthy. She supposed that maybe she would never be able to sleep well again. Maybe her every sleeping hour would be filled with the memory of Bellatrix's heavy bodyweight on top of her...

Ron apparated next to her with a pop, and she screamed, startled. "Woah, Hermione! I'm sorry, did I scare you?"

"Yes, you did, Ron!"

"I'm sorry. I thought by now you would be used to the sound of apparating…"

She sighed. "That's not it. I was just… thinking about something."

"Thinking about what?"

"Nothing."

"It can't have been nothing, Hermione."

"Alright. I was thinking about how I'll likely never be able to sleep peacefully again."

"But maybe you will! If you just went to St. Mungo's-"

"Ron! I'm not doing that! Not anytime soon, at least! There are other things to worry about."

"Nothing is more important than your health, Hermione."

"I'm just so scared, Ron," she admitted quietly, leaned into his much larger and comforting body.

He immediately wrapped his arms around her. "Why? What's wrong, love?"

"I'm scared to fall asleep. I worry about it all day, and then the night comes, and it's time to sleep, and I'm terrified," she said, crying into his shoulder.

"Oh, Hermione…" Ron said softly.

"I'm so scared of her, Ron. How ridiculous is that? She can never do anything to me again; I know that. And yet, sometimes…"

Ron tightened his hold on her. "You're damn right she can never do anything to you again. I said it before: I'd kill someone before I let them hurt you, Hermione. I mean it. You'll never have to suffer again, as long as I'm around."

"You can't promise something like that, Ron. Who knows what the future holds?"

"I do," he replied with certainty. "I know."

"I'm sorry," Hermione whispered against Ron's broad chest. "I'm sorry that I keep bringing this up."

"I'm sorry that it happened to you, love. I can't tell you how many times I've thought about it. If I had just gotten to you sooner…"

"You saved my life, Ron."

"No I didn't," Ron scoffed. "You saved your own life, Hermione."

"No! I could hear you! I could hear you and it made me want to hold on. There were a few moments where… where I knew that if I wanted to, I could let go. But I heard your voice, and it made me hold on. I was about to give up, but then I heard you, and it kept me fighting for one more second."

"It did?" Ron asked, his voice having turned emotional.

"Yes," she answered matter of factly.

"I just wanted you to know I was still there. I thought I was going to bloody go insane Hermione. When I think about… about what it was like to hear you… screaming like that…"

"It's okay, Ron."

"No, it's not okay. You're the most kind-hearted person I've ever met, and the fact that you of all people had to suffer that…"

"I'm alright, now, though."

"Are you?" He pushed her away from him slightly and looked into her eyes. "I love you so fucking much, Hermione. Please, let me help you."

In that moment, she couldn't say no to him. He looked so desperate and vulnerable; as if her happiness was the key to his own.

"Alright, Ron. I'll… think about it. Not anytime soon, because we have to go to Australia. But after... maybe."

Ron smiled in triumph. "Thank you," he said, as if she had just given him a gift by agreeing to help herself. Hermione marveled again at how she had found someone who somehow valued her happiness above his own. She supposed that in turn she valued his happiness greater than her own. She couldn't help it, and apparently he couldn't help it either. No matter what she would be forced to deal with in the future, it felt good to be in this moment, knowing what it was like to feel a love like this for someone and receive that same love in return.


	31. Chapter 31

_Author's note: Hello everyone! I just wanted to once again thank all of you for reading my story. I have about a thousand ideas for different chapters and story lines, and I'm trying to get all of them onto paper with the little time that I have to do so. Thanks for your patience!_

* * *

Her screaming woke her up again; loud, high pitched shrieks of agony that stung her ears and burned her throat. After taking a few seconds to allow her vision to become unblurry, she turned toward Ron's body and rested her head on his chest. At least now she had a routine: wake up screaming in the middle of the night from a traumatizing nightmare, immediately clutch for Ron in the dark, and then cry herself back to sleep.

"Ron?" She sobbed into his chest. "I'm sorry I woke you. Can you just hold me until I fall asleep again?"

Ron didn't answer her, though. She opened her eyes and looked up into his face, only to see that he was staring across the room. It looked like he was making eye contact with someone.

She turned her head, and through the tears in her eyes she could just make out Harry standing across the room. His mouth was open in shock and he was holding what looked like a pair of pajama bottoms in his hand. It looked as though he had grabbed them off of his cot but now seemed to be frozen on the spot, unable to keep himself from staring at her.

"Harry!" She squeaked. "What are you doing in here!?" Harry didn't answered her, so she turned to Ron, now angry that he had let someone into the room when she was sleeping. "What is he doing in here, Ron?" She whispered angrily.

"I'm sorry, Hermione. You had honestly just dozed off, and he needed to get his pajamas. I didn't think…"

She didn't respond, only flinched when she saw that Harry had apparently snapped himself out of his silence and was walking toward them.

"Hold on a second, mate. Don't get too close just yet," Ron said in warning, and Harry froze on the spot, looking guilty and backing up as though he thought he had caused her more pain.

"No, Harry. It's okay. You can come over." said Hermione. She was started to feel less disoriented and supposed that Harry would want an explanation as to what had just happened. He nodded, slowly walking back toward Ron's bed. She patted a spot for him to sit and he sat down, staring at her.

"Hermione…" He trailed off, looking at her with a grave sadness in his eyes.

"Yes?"

"I...I had no idea that…"

"It's nothing, Harry," she said with what she hoped was a casual shrug.

"Nothing? Hermione, you were screaming worse than when-" He stopped himself short, but she knew that he was talking about her torture.

"Well, it's only a dream, so-"

"Only a dream? Hermione, this isn't normal."

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Ron shoot Harry a nasty look.

"Not normal? As in, I'm crazy? Is that what you're saying, Harry?" She asked in an icy tone.

"What? No! I'm just saying, we need to get you over to St. Mungo's. Don't worry, you'll be okay. I'm sure they can help you with whatever you're experiencing."

Hermione stared at Harry angrily, trying to decide how to answer him. He talked about it as though it were the simplest thing in the world. She supposed that she shouldn't be surprised though; Harry had always been a very linear thinker. If he had a problem, he simply sought the most obvious solution and fixed it.

For her, it wasn't as simple. There were so many emotions and so much trauma that was getting in the way. In that moment, she envied Harry; envied his apparent ability to persevere in the face of anything, and to help himself in the most logical way possible.

Finally, instead of answering him, she merely shrugged, and buried her face back into Ron's chest.

"Hermione?" Harry asked. He sounded surprised that she had just ignored him. "Hermione, did I say something wrong?"

"Mate, we've kind of put that discussion on hold for now," Ron spoke up, and she looked into his face just in time to see him sending Harry a warning look.

Suddenly, she shot up. "Look, the two of you don't have to tiptoe around me. I get it, alright? I'm...I'm f-fucked up in the head, okay?" Both Ron and Harry's eyebrows rose in shock; both of them seemed surprised that she had cursed.

"Hermione, you're not fucked up in the head. You've had something terrible happen to you, and you're being forced to deal with it," Harry said quietly.

She sighed. "I'm sorry, Harry. I shouldn't be so insensitive. Of course, you've had to deal with much worse-"

Harry shook his head. "No, Hermione. Don't compare yourself to me, or anyone else."

"Well then don't pity me," Hermione shot back.

"I don't pity you! I care about you! You're my best friend," he finished quietly. "Both of you are," he added, looking at Ron.

"Really? Because if us following you into countless completely mental situations- most of which had an almost certainty of death- over the years weren't enough to prove it, you saying it just now has gotta mean that it's true," Ron joked.

"Fuck you, Ron," Harry said with a smile, leaning toward the two of them and punching Ron in the arm. Ron grinned and punched him back.

She rolled her eyes. _Boys_.

"Budge over," Harry said, nudging her gently. She looked at Ron who shrugged and moved closer to the wall, and she moved with him. Harry lifted the covers up and crawled into Ron's bed next to her. "Whew," he exclaimed, sounding relieved. "I sure am glad that you two weren't naked under here. That would have been awkward."

"Harry!" She admonished, blushing.

"Yes?" He taunted, acting as if he didn't know that she was chastising him.

"You really are the brother that I never had, aren't you?"

"Hope so," he replied matter of factly.

The three of them laid there in silence for a few minutes. She looked over at Ron to see him smiling his goofy smile at her. Harry was staring wistfully up at the ceiling, probably in his own world brooding about something.

"My boys," she sighed fondly.

"Your boys, huh?" Ron asked, shifting one of his eyebrows up.

"Of course, Ron. Well, you're my man, but the two of you together are my boys."

"Whatever you say, love," Ron chuckled.

"We really did it, didn't we?" She asked both of them, staring up at the ceiling.

"Eh, you did most of it, Hermione. Reckon the two of us just got lucky a bunch of times," Harry replied.

"No, WE did it," she said with certaintly.

"Don't argue with her Harry," Ron spoke up. "You'll never win. I find it best to just smile and nod."

"Blimey Ron, she's got you trained pretty well, I would say," Harry said, laughing.

"Fuck off, Harry. Or should I say Ginny's lap dog," Ron shot back with a grin.

Hermione only giggled, comforted by the sounds of the boys' own laughter. She would love to spend her days like this; laughing with her two best friends. "Do you think we'll get to have normal lives someday? Do you think we'll have families and be happy?" She asked suddenly, causing both of them to stop laughing.

Harry shrugged. "I want kids. I always kinda thought that I did, but I also figured that I would probably die and never get to have them. When Teddy was here, it's like it occured to me that now someday I can have the chance to really be a father, the way my own dad never got to be. Not just with Teddy, but with my own kids too."

"That's beautiful, Harry," Hermione sniffed, grabbing his hand and squeezing it. "You'd make a wonderful father. And I know you're going to be a wonderful godfather."

Harry squeezed her hand back. "We're going to be okay, Hermione. I know. I can feel it." When had she missed this new tranquil certainty that Harry had apparently acquired?

"Feel it? What do you mean by feel? Is your scar-?"

"No." Harry cut her off. "It hasn't hurt me at all these past few weeks. Something tells me it won't ever again."

Hermione thought about telling Harry that he better make his way to Ginny's room before he fell asleep, but she didn't have the heart to do so. He looked so peaceful and content, and part of her didn't want to end this happy moment between herself and her two best friends. So, she closed her eyes and smiled, and before she knew it the three of them were drifting off to sleep.

* * *

The next morning came quickly, without a nightmare interrupting her slumber. She woke up disoriented at first, unused to the feeling of being smooshed between two people, but then quickly remembered that Harry must have fallen asleep while talking to her and Ron.

Her boys were still asleep, and she took a moment to study their peaceful faces. They looked younger and more innocent in sleep; the harsh reality of the horrors they had experienced not present on their faces. Ron smiled in his sleep, and fleetingly she had the romantic notion that maybe he was dreaming of her.

To Hermione's surprise, Ginny strolled into the room then, bouncing Teddy on her hip. "Is there something I should know about you three? Is this is your way of letting me know you're in a three-way relationship?" Her loud entrance served to wake up Ron and Harry.

"Shut up, Ginny," Ron shot back, groggily rubbing his eyes. He leaned up against the headboard and pulled Hermione into his lap.

Harry, however, only had eyes for Teddy. "Teddy! What is he doing here!?"

"Mrs. Tonks came to talk to Mum. They're having tea so I offered to take him off their hands and surprise you." She looked down at Teddy and adopted a higher voice. "Did we surprise him, Teddy? Did we surprise Harry like we said we would?" Teddy merely giggled and grabbed onto a lock of Ginny's long red hair.

"You definitely did," said Harry, already off of the bed and walking toward Ginny. Ginny immediately held Teddy out and placed him into Harry's awaiting arms. "Hey, Ted. Remember me?" Teddy screwed up his face and turned his hair into a perfect copy of Harry's black hair. She saw Harry's eyes light up in happiness. He walked over to the cot on the opposite side of the room and sat down on it, leaning up against the wall and settling Teddy in his lap. Ginny followed, sitting down next to Harry and leaning her head against his shoulder. She turned to Teddy and gently caressed his cheek, and Hermione was struck by what a beautiful moment it was.

"Sorry I didn't come back down last night, Ginny. We got to talking, and-"

"Don't worry about it," Ginny said with a dismissive wave of her hand. "Although, now we're going to have to make up for all that missed snogging time," she added suggestively.

"Merlin fuck, Gin. I get it, you two snog," Ron said.

"Ron! Mind your language in front of the baby!" Hermione chastised.

Ron rolled his eyes. "He can't even understand us, Hermione."

"How do you think babies learn to speak, Ronald? By listening to those around them; that's how. I won't have you filling his mind with your filth."

"I would go with the smile and nod strategy, Ron," Harry piped up, not even attempted to hide his smirk.

"Piss off, Harry."

"RON, GINNY, HARRY, HERMIONE! OH! AND TEDDY! BREAKFAST!" Mrs. Weasley called from downstairs.

"Looks like he's officially been added to the list of names for Mum to scream every time there's a meal," Ron said with a smile in Teddy's direction. Harry beamed.

Hermione turned to Ron and shot him a smile of her own. She could see what he was doing; incorporating Teddy into the family and trying to make him belong. It was obviously for Harry's benefit. Harry slowly maneuvered off of the cot while carefully cradling Teddy, and walked out the door with Ginny on his heels.

"That was very kind of you, Ron," Hermione said.

Ron shrugged. "Reckoned it would make him happy."

She smiled and kissed him on the cheek. He had certainly come a long way from the jealous, sometimes unthoughtful boy of their younger years. She had even slept next to Harry last night and he seemed to have no qualms about it. Grant it, he had been there too, but just last summer he had sniffed and looked away in anger when her sleeping bag had apparently gotten too close to Harry's on the drawing room floor in Grimmauld Place.

"Thanks for letting Harry stay up here last night," she said. Ron looked confused, so she elaborated. "I didn't want you to feel uncomfortable, with him sleeping next to me…"

Ron dismissed her thoughts with a quick peck on the lips. "Nonsense. We're all best friends."

She smiled at him. "We are, aren't we?"

"You're my girl now, Hermione. Everyone knows it, but most importantly, the two of us know it. I reckon as long as we both know it, nothing else matters."

She nodded. "I love you, Ron. So much."

"I love you too, and it feels so fucking good to be able to tell you."


	32. Chapter 32

_Author's note: Some of you have been asking if I plan on covering Australia, and the answer is yes, I do! I know that everything had been tedious, but that was my vision for this story from the start. I want to capture every waking and sleeping moment of Hermione's ups and downs when dealing with the aftermath of her torture and her experiences with the war as a whole. So stay with me, I promise I'll get to everything; it's just going to be a slow progression._

* * *

"I'm shagging Harry's brains out the second after I down one of these things."

"Ginny! Keep your voice down! We are in a public room!" Hermione whispered harshly.

"Fine." She grabbed her wand and silenced the room quickly. "I'M GOING TO SHAG HARRY POTTER'S BRAINS OUT!" She screamed, then collapsed into a giggling fit at the table.

"Yes, quite," Hermione said, eyeing her wearily. "And you know what else, Ginny? You have certainly been doing quite a bit of underage magic."

"Oh, that's rich, coming from you Hermione."

'Excuse me?"

"All I'm saying is that for someone who claims to respect and follow the rules, you sure do seem to break them a lot."

"Yes… well… do be careful. I only break the rules when it is one hundred percent necessary and I go about it quite logically."

"Yeah, yeah. I think the Ministry's got bigger things to worry about than me silencing a room to declare my desire to shag Harry senseless."

Hermione checked the potion bubbling in the cauldron on the stove again. "Alright. It says here that when I add this last ingredient it should turn that pink color that Fleur showed us." She dropped said ingredient into the potion, and it flashed a brilliant pink; the same exact shade as Fleur's.

Ginny clapped. "Well done, Hermione!"

Hermione smiled, despite herself. It had been a long time since she had brewed a potion, and getting this one perfect on the first try along with Ginny's added praise made her feel like her old self again. "Thanks, Ginny. Now, we just let it cool… oh! We'll need some vials…"

"Don't worry, Mum has a ton of those in the cupboard down the hall. I'll go grab some." Ginny hopped off her perch on the table and skipped out of the kitchen.

Hermione turned back to the potion, lazily stirring it. Just then, Ron waltzed into the room. She froze, and did her best to smile at him and not look suspicious.

"You cooking something?" He asked with a grin, getting closer to her with each of his long strides. He reached her and peered into the cauldron, forehead wrinkling when he saw the pink potion. "A potion?" He inquired, looking at her in confusion.

"Yes," she answered truthfully, hoping that would be a sufficient answer for him.

"What for?"

"None of your damn business, that's what Ron," Ginny said, flouncing into the kitchen with a pile of vials in her hands.

"I have a right to know what's going on in this house, Ginny-" Ron began, sounding authoritative. Hermione resisted rolling her eyes.

"It's for my cramps Ron. You know, for my period? I know you know next to nothing about girls, but you see, once a month-"

"Oi! That's enough Ginny!" Ron shouted, grimacing. "You two carry on. I'll be with Harry and Teddy in the backyard."

Ginny turned to her and smirked. "Works everytime. I swear Hermione, if you ever want Ron to leave you alone just bring up some sort of 'womanly problem' as he calls it and he'll be gone faster than you can say Merlin's beard."

"Alright, well just fill those up once this cools. I'm going to see if the boys need help with Teddy."

Mrs. Tonks had needed to take care of some business that Hermione understood had to do with Remus and Tonks's will, and when Mrs. Weasley could not help on account of her lunch date with Fleur at Shell Cottage, Harry had all too quickly offered the four of them as babysitters.

Hermione made her way out to the backyard, where Teddy sat perched in his pram watching Harry and Ron zoom above him. He began to fuss a bit, and Hermione scooped him up, finding that he fit easily against her hip.

"Do you see them up there, Teddy? Do you see Ron and Harry?" She asked, patting Teddy's wispy blue hair and then pointing up at the boys. "Ron is the one with all that red hair. Kind of hard to miss him, isn't it? Harry's the one chasing the snitch. See him? He's rather quick, isn't he? One day he'll teach you how to play."

Teddy began to fuss louder. "What's wrong, darling?" She cooed, surprised at the sudden motherly instinct that was coming out in her. "Do you need a bottle? Tell you what, I'll fix you a bottle, then you can come with me and I'll show you all you'll ever need to know about packing. How does that sound?" Teddy only babbled in response.

"Harry! I'm taking him inside to feed him!" She called up to Harry. Harry nodded and gave her a thumbs up, so she turned and walked back into the house, grabbing one of the ready made bottles that Mrs. Tonks had left for them and gently placing into Teddy's mouth. He starting sucking on it greedily, so she figured that she had found the source of his fussiness and continued her trek upstairs. When she reached Ginny's room, she made Teddy a comfortable spot with all of the pillows she could find and sat him down.

"Now, pay attention, Teddy. When packing for any trip, you'll first want to start with the essentials. I'll need my clothes for sure, so I'll start with them." She waved her wand, and her clothes began to fly around the room, folding themselves and stacking themselves neatly in front of Teddy. He giggled and stared at the articles of clothing whirling around him in wonder.

Briefly, she considered how different Teddy's childhood would be from Harry's or her own. It felt odd to be doing magic in front of a baby. In her mind it seemed like magic was something that you suddenly got introduced to at the age of eleven. Hermione pictured what Ron's childhood must have been like; living in this magical house. She bet that he was proud of himself the first time he had shown a sign of magic, as opposed to her own experience which had left all of the light bulbs in her house mysteriously broken and her feeling like a freak because she had somehow known that she had done it.

Ron walked into the room just then, smiling at her. "I knew you two would be in here. Harry was freaking out because you weren't in the kitchen."

"I'm teaching Teddy how to pack," she said, smiling proudly.

"Why am I not surprised? You know he's barely two months old, right Hermione?"

"It's never too early to get into good habits, Ron. You should start packing yourself, you know. We leave in less than a week."

"Er, I sort of figured that you would do it."

"Excuse me, Ron? And why is that, exactly?" She asked, annoyed at his assumption.

"Oh come on, don't be mad, Hermione. You packed everything last time, and Merlin knows you probably have an intricate system going on inside that beaded bag of yours. We both know that whatever I do you'll just repack it."

Hermione paused, taking in Ron's words and realizing that he was exactly right. She sighed. "I suppose you're right Ron. I do have a system, actually. I can teach it to you. It's really rather simple. You see, everything is alphabetized, but then also cross-referenced by level of importance-"

"Er, yeah. Sounds great. You've really got a knack for organization, love." Hermione rolled her eyes, not convinced that his complement wasn't an attempt to stop him from getting a lesson in organization.

Just then, Ginny walked into the room, holding the vials of potion. She turned to Ron. "Good. Ron, you're in here. Get out. Oh, and take Teddy with you."

"Why?" Ron asked, annoyed.

"Because it's my room and I said so."

"Please do it Ron. I think he's getting sleepy. Why don't you go put him down for a nap in the bassinet in the sitting room?" Hermione asked.

"Alright, but only because you asked me, Hermione. Not because Ginny told me to," he replied, shooting Ginny a nasty look and scooping Teddy up into his strong arms.

"It's okay, Ron. I understand your need to assert your dominance, but please just do it quickly and get out," Ginny said, not even looking at Ron anymore. Hermione stifled a giggle into her hand.

Ron left with Teddy, and Ginny turned to Hermione with an exasperated look. "I swear, Hermione. You sure you don't have him under Imperio? The man does whatever you tell him to do."

"He does not! You know we have arguments all the time!"

"That's what you're calling it? Seems more like foreplay, to me. You two are very keen on building the sexual tension."

"Ginny! While I will admit that of course there is some sexual chemistry between Ron and I, that in no way means that every row we have ever had is because of it."

" _Some_ sexual chemistry?" Ginny asked, seemingly incredulous. She stared at Hermione with scrutiny.

"Fine! There's a lot of sexual chemistry! I want to rip his clothes off every time I look at him and I know that he wants to do the same! Is that what you wanted to hear? But that in no way means that he doesn't have his own mind, or that I'm some controlling nag-"

"Come on, Hermione. Be both know all you'd have to do is bat your eyelashes and Ronniekins would do whatever you told him to do. Now here, take this," Ginny said, handing her one of the vials. "Bottoms up," she said with a grin, clinking her vial with Hermione's and then downing it in one gulp. Hermione followed her lead, and drank her own potion.

"It's actually rather tasty," Ginny commented, smacking her lips.

"Yes, well I could have told you that, Ginny. The ingredients it called for typically result in a flowerlike smell and sweet taste."

"Of course you knew that. Well, I'll let you get back to your packing. I think I'll go see what Harry's up to," Ginny said suggestively.

* * *

Hermione spent the rest of the day preparing for the Australia trip, finishing the majority of what she wanted to get done by dinner time. After a hearty meal, she proceeded to take her relaxing bath in the loo, and then walked into Ginny's room to locate her brush and attempt to tame her wild locks. Her hair had certainly gotten out of hand lately; she hadn't cut it in more than a year, and soaking wet it laid all the way down her back and ended almost at her waist.

"Hermione, I love you, but can you maybe do that up in Ron's room?" Ginny asked impatiently from her perch on her bed.

"What? Oh, of course Ginny. Um, good luck with everything." Hermione didn't quite know what to make of what she knew was about to transpire in Ginny's room tonight. On one hand, she wanted to know absolutely nothing about it because it involved Harry and he was like a brother to her, but on the other hand Ginny was her best girlfriend and she couldn't help but feel excited for her.

Ginny smiled. "Thanks, Hermione."

Hermione smiled back and disapparated, landing on Ron's bed with her wand in one hand and her brush in the other. He wasn't in his room, so she proceeded to go about her nightly ritual of untangling the unruly mess that was her hair.

Ron entered the room a few minutes later, and when he saw what she was doing his eyes lit up.

"What, excited that you get to see the behind the scenes action?" She asked, smirking at him.

Ron looked confused. "Behind the what? What's behind where?" He asked, peering behind her and then all around the room.

"It's a muggle expression. It means you get to see the work that goes into making my hair look the way it does that you wouldn't usually get to see," she explained. He nodded in understanding. "You know, I'm thinking about cutting it actually. I haven't in over a year. It's so unruly that sometimes I think it would be better if I just chopped it all off."

"No!" Ron shouted. She rose her eyebrows, surprised by his abrupt reaction. He looked a bit sheepish. "I mean, you shouldn't do that, Hermione. It's so beautiful."

"Beautiful? It's a mess. And it's a pain to take care of. Would you like to have to brush this out every single night, Ronald?"

"I don't think I would mind," he said.

"Well here, then. Go ahead!" She huffed, handing him the brush.

He eagerly accepted it, and scooted behind her, taking her long hair into his hands and beginning to softly brush the tangles out. It actually felt rather nice; he was being so gentle and loving. "Please don't cut it, Hermione. I'll do this every night if I have to. Your hair is so beautiful," he murmured.

"Fine," she agreed. "I won't chop it all off; maybe just a trim. I can't never cut it again, Ron."

"Alright, but not too much," he insisted.

She nodded in silent agreement. Hermione had always known that Ron had a thing for her hair, but she didn't know that it went to this depth; she found it to be endearing.

They continued to sit on his bed as he brushed her hair in silence, until he was finished. Ron leaned in and pressed a kiss against the side of her neck. "All done," he whispered.

She leaned into his kiss, and he rightfully took it as signal to continue. He kissed along her jaw and wrapped his arms around her, grabbing her breasts and kneading them gently from behind. She gasped at the sensation; it somehow felt different like this, with her back pressed securely against his broad chest. She turned her head as far as she could and kissed him fully on the mouth, and their tongues battled for dominance until her neck began to hurt her and she had no choice but to turn around quickly and climb into his lap. They kissed slowly, almost lazily, and she marveled again at the sheer fact that she was sitting in Ron's lap and snogging him; something she had dreamed about doing for the longest time. All of the sudden, it seemed that something in him snapped, because he grabbed her and flipped her onto her back, quickly laying his entire body down on top of her's and continuing to kiss her with wild abandon.

"Ron…" she moaned.

"Yeah?" He gasped, kneading her breasts more roughly and snaking his hand down her pajama bottoms to rub her through her knickers.

"I want you so badly, but-"

"I want you too, love. You're so fucking gorgeous." Ron was thrusting wildly against her, making her entire body slide up and down across the mattress.

She needed to grasp her last shred of self control, which was quickly slipping away from her. "But... we should stop. I want you so badly, but-"

Ron looked up from his place on her breast in a lust induced haze. "What? Why? If we both want each other, what's the problem, then?"

"I just… I think it's too soon! I… are we really ready for this?" She had taken the potion merely as a precaution. There was still something inside of her that was saying she wasn't ready for this big of a step yet.

Ron let out a long sigh, and rested his head against her shoulder, taking a few deep breaths before he picked his head back up. When he reemerged, he had a more sane look on his face. "If you don't think we're ready, I understand. I just, I don't see why you think that there's any reason that we wouldn't be ready. We love each other, and we want each other, and… I just want to be as close to you as possible, Hermione. It just feels so natural to me, like it's strange that we haven't done it yet. But I get that this is a big deal for you."

She nodded. "It feels natural to me as well, Ron. This is such a big step, though. I just need a little more time. I want us to talk about it beforehand. And I'd like to be somewhere that we know no one will bother us…"

Ron nodded his head in agreement. "You're right. I'm sorry. I'll wait as long as you want. Hell, I'd wait forever for you, Hermione. I reckon I'm lucky that you even let me look at you, to be honest. Take as much time as you need."

She stroked his hair as he buried his face back into her shoulder. "Don't be sorry. I understand how you feel. I just feel like I need to be the one to keep my head and really think this over."

"Well, what are you thinking?" Ron asked, staring into her eyes intently.

"I'm thinking… I'm thinking that I love you more than anything, and every time I'm with you all I want to do is...is shag you silly, for lack of a better term. But I'm also thinking that we've only officially been together for a week."

"Yeah, but in a way it feels longer than that, doesn't it? We've both wanted each other for so long, and I don't know about you, but I've thought of you as being mine for a while, even before we made it official."

Hermione was touched by his words. Come to think of it, she had thought of him as being her's for a long time as well. "I suppose I thought the same."

Ron continued. "What else is bothering you? Is it just the it being too soon thing?"

She sighed. "I mean, I know that we've done other things together and seen each other naked and what not, but this would be different, Ron. I mean, it's sex! Can you picture it!? The two of us, having sex!"

Ron chuckled. "Oh, I can picture it alright. Probably more vividly than you would like to know. Is it a problem for you to have sex before marriage? Is that it? Because if it is, you can tell me. It's okay. I don't know too much about what muggles think of it, but in the wizarding world, especially for pure bloods, it is a big deal. So I would understand where you're coming from. Mind you, I never really cared about it, although Mum sure as hell tried to drill it into my head…"

"No… that's not it." Ron looked at her with a face that seemed to say he didn't quite believe her. She pressed on. "No, honestly Ron. Some muggles do care about it, but my Mum and Dad always just told me to be safe and responsible. I never put any stigma on the whole 'virginity' thing, like it was something for me to lose or a gift to give away and I would be fundamentally changed once it happened, you know? I mean, I do think it's something special; I don't think it would have been okay for me to sleep with half the boys at Hogwarts or anything…" When she said this, Ron bristled. "And you know, I think that until the last year or so I was definitely too young."

"And now?" Ron asked.

"And now, I'm definitely mature enough. I guess it's just… I'm not used to knowing absolutely nothing about something before I do it, you know? And this is one of the those things that the only way to learn about it is to experience it for yourself. So I'm going to have to dive head first into it without any research done…"

Ron smiled at her. "Research? Well, to be fair, we do know quite a bit about how to get each other off at this point."

"But Ron! This will be different! Aren't you nervous at all?" She was beginning to think that maybe she was overreacting. Everyone was capable of having sex, right? It was a natural thing that her body was made for. It's not like she would be able to fail at sex… would she?

"Of course I'm nervous. But I reckon not for the same reasons that you are," Ron said quietly.

"What do you mean?" She asked.

"Well, I'm worried that I'm going to hurt you, Hermione. My brothers have told me that it hurts; the first time for a girl. And, I'm worried that I won't last that long; that it will be horrible for you," Ron said.

"Ron, trust me when I say that it won't be horrible for me. I just want to be with you. I don't care how long it is, we can always try it again. It's not like you'll only get one shot," she said with a wink. Ron grinned at her. "And don't worry about hurting me. It probably won't hurt too badly. Sex isn't supposed to hurt."

Ron's brow furrowed. "Yeah, but I always thought that it does for the girl at first…"

Hermione sighed, and decided that she was going to have to get very clinical and blunt with Ron so as to ease his worries. "It has nothing to do with it being your first time. I mean, sometimes it does, but if you're thinking about that whole breaking the hymen thing, that's largely just a stigma. I mean, as I've told you I've experimented on my own, and because of that coupled with all of the broom riding I've done over the years I probably don't even have one anymore. So don't worry about that. I'm not worried about it. Even if it is a bit uncomfortable, it won't last long."

Ron looked uncertain, though. "How are you so sure? I know you're almost always right, but-"

"Ron, it will be fine. Obviously I don't know for sure, but some of my friends have told me about their first times and for almost all of them it was a positive experience."

Suddenly, Ron looked even more concerned and slightly angry. "Hermione, I don't know of too many other girl friends that you have other than my little sister. Please don't tell me she told you anything about this."

"And what if she did? Ginny and I are friends you know. We talk about these kind of things."

Ron eyes widened. "What do you mean? You talk to my baby sister about me?"

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Don't you talk to Harry about me? It's okay if you do, you know."

Ron vehemently shook his head. "What!? No way! I mean, I tell him that you're brilliant and that everything is going well. The morning after he found us half naked he mentioned it to me later and I gave him about a three sentence summary of what had happened. We don't go into detail!" Ron was looking at her like it was absurd that she would want to talk to anyone about this.

Hermione huffed. "Well, let me let you in on another fact about girls, Ron. Honestly, sometimes you are so clueless that I really think you might want to start taking notes. Girls talk. Usually in great detail. And Ginny and I are best girlfriends, so we're going to talk to each other. Now grant it, she usually doesn't want to hear too much about you specifically, but we still talk a lot. And for some reason she thinks that because Harry and I are not related by blood that it's okay for her to go into great detail about him. I mean honestly, sometimes she-"

Ron slapped his hand over her mouth. "That's enough Hermione. I don't want to know anything else about this."

She smirked. "Alright, Ron. But let me just say that I wasn't even talking about Ginny. I do have some female muggle cousins you know. And contrary to what you might believe, you and Harry were not my only friends at Hogwarts. I did live in a dorm with four other girls for six years. We got up to talking quite a bit."

"I didn't mean to say that you didn't have any other friends, love. Of course you did. Who wouldn't want to be your friend? You're brilliant. But I mean it, Hermione. I'll wait forever for you. Take as much time as you need. I reckon I'd be content to just hold your hand for the rest of my life."

She smiled at him, thinking that he definitely wouldn't have to wait forever. She loved him; that much she was certain. Hopefully, everything else would just fall into place.

"Ron, can I ask you something?" She said after a while, lacing her hands behind his neck and leaning back to look at him.

" 'course," he replied.

"What was it like, the first time that you did magic?"

He looked confused, as if he hadn't been expecting that question. Hermione supposed that she hadn't been expecting it either; it had sort of slipped out without her knowing that she was going to ask him.

"Well, I think I was around, hmm… three? Funny story, actually. Fred and George had been chasing me around the yard on their brooms, teasing me 'cause I didn't have one yet and I didn't know how to ride. All I could think about was how much I wanted to get away from the two of them and steal both of their fucking brooms, and the next thing I know I'm on the roof with the two brooms next to me, and I look down to see Fred and George falling out of the air. You should have seen their faces, Hermione. They looked so fucking shocked. I thought I was gonna be in trouble, but Mum came up to the roof and got me and she was so proud of me. Baked me a cake and everything." Ron was smiling fondly at the memory. So, she had been right. Ron's first use of raw magic had been met with praise and celebration. "Why do you ask?" Ron inquired.

"I was thinking today; about Teddy being raised with magic. It's so different from how I was raised."

"So?"

"Let me put it this way, Ron. The first time that I showed a sign of magic, I broke every single light bulb in our house, and my parents were in a fight with the electric company for months afterwards. There was no celebration. The worst part was that I somehow knew that I had done it, but I was too afraid to tell my parents because I thought I had done something wrong."

"I'm sorry, Hermione. I didn't know-"

"Don't be sorry. It's just how it is, being muggleborn. Sometimes I just forget what it must have been like for you compared to what it was like for me."

"I reckon you're right. I also reckon you've had more than enough time to surpass me in all magical skills by this point. I'm rubbish at magic," Ron said with a chuckle. It seemed that he put himself down at every opportunity he got.

"Ron, don't say that," she insisted.

"It's true," he said with a shrug.

"No, it's not. You're a brilliant wizard, Ron. One of the greatest I've ever known." she said with quiet sincerity, leaning in and giving him a kiss on the cheek.

Ron scoffed. "Please, Hermione. Next to Dumbledore, Moody, fuck, even Harry now, I'm one of the greatest you've ever known?"

"Yes. You've done things for me… helped me in situations… where I needed you. I know it was out of love, and that makes it even more special to me. Dumbledore, Moody, even Harry… they are all more… calculated about their decisions. Very… logical and straightforward. You have a big heart, Ron."

"What are you saying, I'm like a poof or something?" Ron asked, looking annoyed.

"No! I can assure you that you are most definitely not," she said suggestively, grinning at him. His attempt at a stern gaze broke and he couldn't help but grin back. "I'm just saying that I can see now, looking back, how much you loved me; how much you love me now. And how that affected you in all of those dangerous situations we were ever in. That makes you a great wizard in my eyes."

Ron nodded, his eyes opening in understanding. "Thanks, Hermione," he simply replied, laying down on his pillow and pulling her with him. She burrowed her face against his chest and he reached a hand up and trailed it through her now tame hair. Hermione giggled. He was going for her hair again. She was quickly beginning to realize that there were certain parts of her that Ron automatically gravitated toward. She wondered if he had envisioned touching these parts of her for a long time, and now that he had permission to due so he was relishing in it. She was certainly relishing in just being with him.

* * *

 _Author's note: So, I know that Hermione seems very back and forth on the physical part of her relationship with Ron, but it's for a reason. I feel like she would have been gaurded of herself during this time, as evidenced by how sometimes she's ripping both of their clothes off and sometimes she's vulnerable and embarrassed. Also, overall she can't get her mind off her parents, and until she deals with that it's hard for her to give herself fully to anyone. She's smart enough to know that she should take some percausions though._


	33. Chapter 33

_She could smell the salt in the air and hear the crashing of the waves. Her face was smashed into the sand. She tried to turn her head but as she did so her throat burned in pain._

 _The pain._

 _It still lingered. It was still an experience that could be easily remembered and felt, rather than a long past memory that had turned into just an idea of the feeling rather than the feeling itself._

 _She took a deep breath, preparing herself for the inevitable sting as she craned her neck forward to assess the damage done to her body._

 _Blood covered her jumper and jeans. Any exposed skin that she could see had shards of glass deeply embedded into it. There was a dark spot between her legs where she had wet herself from sheer fear. Bellatrix had cackled as the urine had dripped down her legs and onto the floor; claiming she truly was a disgusting Mudblood._

 _There was a weight behind her, pressing into her. Come to think of it, there was an arm around her. An arm possessing a pattern of scarring she would know anywhere._

 _Ron! He was with her! He had gotten her out of that horrible situation; saved her from her torment. Her love; her hero. Any second now he would get his wits about him and pick her up, carrying her to the shelter that she knew must be nearby._

 _" 'mione," he croaked, and she did her best to turn, screaming in pain as the shards of glass were pressed deeper into her skin. She was screaming in agony now, but she didn't care; she needed to look into his eyes._

 _She turned enough to look at his handsome face, but where she thought she would see a bright and reassuring smile, she saw paleness and a fading light in his eyes._

 _"Ron?" she whimpered._

 _It looked at though it took all of his strength to turn his grimace into a smile. The arm that had been wrapped around her waist traveled up her body and softly caressed her cheek. "You're gonna be okay," he croaked, and then the light he had seemed to be holding onto left his eyes. She continued to stare into the blue orbs that she had come to love so dearly._

 _"Ron?" She whispered. "Ron, what's wrong?"_

 _It was then that she felt it; the wetness between them. She looked down and saw a red substance between them, covering them. The logical part of her brain new what it was before her heart wanted to admit it. Blood. Ron's blood. It couldn't all be her's._

 _That's when she saw it; the dagger Bellatrix had used to torture her. It was in Ron's chest, in the same exact spot that she pressed her ear against everytime time she hugged him. His heart._

 _"No," she whispered. "No! NO!" Her attempted screams came out as raspy shrieks. She wriggled her way down to Ron's chest and pressed her ear next to the dagger, foolishly hoping it was a fluke; that she would get to hear the familiar sound that was Ron's heart._

 _"I love you!" She cried, wrapping her arms around his neck and sobbing into his chest. "Please! I love you!"_

 _But it was no use. He was gone, and she might as well be. She hoped that no one would find her. Then, at least she could die in Ron's arms..._

"Hermione!"

"I love you!" She cried again, squeezing him harder.

"I love you too, but please wake up!"

She froze. "Ron! How-?"

"You were asleep, Hermione. I'm sorry it took so long for me to wake you up, it's just that this time you weren't screaming; you were just crying quietly."

"Oh, Ron!" She cried, burrowing her tear streaked face into his chest.

"I'm fine. I'm alright," he soothed, patting her back in comfort.

This had been the first time she had dreamt about anything other than her torture specifically. Although, expect for her torture those moments on the beach in front of Bill and Fleur's cottage had been some of the scariest of her life. When she had woken up in a daze, face down in the sand and no idea what had happened. The only thing she had to go on was the incredible amount of pain she was in.

But then, Ron had been there. He had scooped her up and ran. She remembered looking down at the ground and seeing the sand rush by under his feet. He hadn't stopped until he had placed her softly on the bed in Bill and Fleur's guest room.

In this nightmare, he had been dead. He hadn't been there to save her. What would she have done if Ron hadn't been there to pick her up and carry her to the cottage? She probably would have bled to death in the sand.

"What happened, love?" Ron asked.

She took a deep breath before she spoke. "This time, it was after… when we were on the beach."

Ron scowled. "I know you were out of it, but I was trying to tell you that you were going to be alright."

"I know. I heard you."

"I knew you were going to be okay. I wasn't going to let anything else happen to you," Ron said with certainty.

"I felt so safe when I realized that I was in your arms," she mumbled into his chest. She didn't care anymore that she sounded vulnerable in front of him. All her life she had always needed to be the strong one; the one who didn't let anyone else see her sweat. It felt good for once to admit she had needed someone.

"Good. I won't let anything happen to you ever again. I promise. I'll always be there for you." She wanted to argue with him; to tell him that was a promise he might not be able to keep. However, in this moment she couldn't even entertain the possibility that something could happen to him. Her paranoia about losing Ron was becoming more and more of a worry in her mind. She couldn't lose him, not now. Not when she had fallen so hard for him. Not when he was the only sure thing in her life.

"Hold me, please," she said quietly.

She felt him nod and tighten his grip on her. It made her feel content enough to try falling back asleep.

* * *

Hermione woke up earlier than usual. The sun was just rising, filling Ron's room. She turned to look at Ron's face, and once again became mesmerized with how innocent and tranquil he looked in his sleep.

Now that she was awake, Hermione knew that she wouldn't fall back asleep. Her book sat on the chair in Ron's room, and it practically called out to her. Carefully, she slid out of Ron's grip and crossed the room, grabbing her book and deciding to read in the sitting room until breakfast.

On her journey down the winding staircase, she stopped short when she heard whispering voices. It sounded like a male and female. Although she was almost certain that it was Harry and Ginny, she nevertheless drew her wand and hesitantly peeked around the corner.

It was Harry and Ginny. The stood on the landing outside of Ginny's room, their hands clasped tightly as they leaned toward each other, whispering quietly. Ginny reached up and stroked Harry's cheek, and he smiled and ran his fingers through her hair. They leaned forward at the same time and kissed. It was such a tender moment that Hermione wondered if she should turn away and give them some privacy. However, Harry broke away from the kiss and stroked Ginny's hair one more time before turning to walk back up to Ron's room. "Oh! Hey, Hermione," Harry whispered with a goofy smile on his face. Hermione only nodded at him as he drifted past her. She waited until he was a safe distance away from them before addressing Ginny.

"Well, that didn't take long."

"Right as always, Hermione," Ginny replied with a grin.

Hermione quickly turned to the door, closing it and silencing it with a flick of her wand. She hurried over toward Ginny's bed and hopped up onto it, encouraging Ginny to sit next to her. "Alright, Ginny. Tell me everything."

Ginny raised her eyebrows in surprise. "I don't know, Hermione. I'm not quite sure you can handle it," she joked.

Hermione rolled her eyes. "I think I'll be fine, Gin. I'll just pretend it's not Harry we're talking about."

"Okay," Ginny agreed, suddenly serious. "It was wonderful, Hermione."

"Really?" Hermione asked.

"Don't sound so surprised. I'll tell you, Harry really is a quick learner-"

"Ginny! Remember the whole pretending it's not Harry bit?"

"Oh! Right! Well, the _male specimen_ that was in my bed last night arrived shortly after you left. I thought about putting on that little red number that I bought at Madam Malkin's, but then I decided against it. I just wanted it to be about me and him, you know?" Hermione nodded in understanding. "We just laid there for a while. He held my hand and told me how much he loves me. I know I was all talk yesterday, but honestly I didn't know if it was going to happen last night. I was actually a bit nervous." Hermione nodded again. "But then, it was like in that one moment everything was perfect. He said something ridiculously sweet and I leaned in and kissed him, and then one thing led to another…" Ginny stopped talking then, blushing.

"Ginny! You're blushing!" She had never known Ginny to be the blushing type.

"Am I? I can't help it, Hermione. You know, it was the most erotic moment of my life. Har- I mean, _his_ too. It started out slow. We got to where we had been before- you know, me in my knickers and him in his boxers. Then, I just looked in his face and saw so much love in his eyes for me, I decided to go for it. I started shimmying out of my knickers and you should have seen his face, Hermione; it was like Christmas had come early. He kept on asking me if I was sure, but all it took was for me to nod my head and he was starkers on top of me. It was a little awkward at first and didn't last very long, but it didn't hurt me at all like I thought it would. The second time was even better."

"The second time?" Hermione asked, raising her eyebrows.

"Well, you didn't think we would just do it once, did you? Also, Har- I mean _he_ \- is quite determined once he sets his mind to something."

"So you're happy, Gin? No regrets?"

"Regrets? Why would I regret making love with the love of my life? I told you, I'm going to marry him someday, Hermione."

"Well, Ron and I sort of had a conversation last night, and it made me realize that I might be more confused than ever."

"What do you mean?" Ginny asked.

"We talked about, you know, taking the next step. It's like one second I want to...but then the next… I don't know, Ginny! I'm so emotionally overwhelmed."

"Listen, Hermione, you don't have to do anything you don't want to do-"

"But I do want to, but then I, I don't know. I've never felt like this before, and it's scaring me. I've never had a boyfriend before; I'm not exactly sure how all of this works. Do you think that Ron is angry with me?"

"Angry? Why would he be angry with you?"

"I'm obviously fucked up in the head, Ginny," she said, using her statement from the other night, but this time not stuttering. Maybe Ron's use of foul language was rubbing off on her. "I've been so back and forth with my emotions, not to mention the more physical aspects of our relationship. Do you think he'll be upset that I've held off on sex for now?"

"Hermione, of course not! The git loves you! He understands that you're going through some shite. I swear, all he wants to do is kiss the ground you walk on for the rest of his life."

"Sometimes I worry that he'll finally realize how much is wrong with me and chuck me," she said in a quiet voice.

"Hermione, he'll never chuck you; I see many red haired buck toothed children in your future. Ron's a great guy. I know I've been short with him lately, but he drives me insane with this whole overprotective big brother thing. Why can't he just be my big brother, and leave my love life to me?"

"I think being overprotective might come with the job description, Ginny. He just cares about you."

"I know. I know he does it because he loves me. I love him too. More than he knows, probably," Ginny said, suddenly sounding choked up. Hermione wasn't surprised to see tears pooling in the younger girl's eyes; she knew how much Ginny cared for her big brother.

"Hey, Gin, have you seen- oh, there you are, Hermione." Ron had stuck his head in Ginny's door. He joined the girls on Ginny's bed, causing the springs to creak dangerously. Ginny sniffed and tried to discreetly wipe away the tears in her eyes. "Ginny? What's the matter?" Ron asked, scooting closer to Ginny and wrapping his arm around her shoulders.

"I'm fine, Ron."

"No, really, Gin, what's wrong? Did Harry do something? Because I swear, I'll pummel him right now for you-"

"No, Harry didn't do anything," she answered with a sniff.

"Oh. Then what's the matter?"

"I just love you so much, you big oaf!" Ginny burst out.

Ron looked surprised, but squeezed her shoulder gently. "I love you too, Gin."

"I'm sorry if I've been short with you, Ron, but you really should try not being so much of a git."

"Trust me, I know. Hermione's working on it with me," he replied with a wink in her direction.

Hermione smiled back at him, while taking in the scene before her. Ron really did look very much the big brother with Ginny curled up next to him in her fluffy pink robe. Ginny turned and kissed Ron quickly on the cheek.

"Alright, see you two downstairs," Ginny said, before jumping up and scampering out of the room.

"You two made up pretty quick," Hermione observed out loud.

"Who, me and Gin?" Ron asked. She nodded, and he shrugged in response. "That's how we've always been- at each other's throats and then best friends again. We grew up as playmates and it was just the two of us once the twins went off to Hogwarts. I reckon that once she started growing into a, um, _woman_ ," Ron cringed at the word, "I didn't like the way blokes were looking at her and talking to her. It's like she went from being the little girl that I used to play with to this beautiful woman, but I still see her as the little girl."

"Oh, Ron. That's so sweet." Hermione felt touched by his love for his little sister.

"Eh, Gin doesn't seem to think so."

"She knows that you mean well, Ron."

"I really do, you know," Ron said, looking at her with sincerity. "I just want her to be happy."

"She's happy with Harry," Hermione noted.

"I know. But he hurt her before, Hermione," Ron said with a scowl.

"That was different, and you know it. I know he chose her safety over her happiness, but if he hadn't, who knows if Ginny would be here right now."

Ron's face paled, as if he hadn't realized that his beloved little sister could be gone just as easily as his older brother. "Fuck. I guess I knew that, but I always thought, you know, who could possibly find it in themselves to hurt Ginny? In my head she still wears those pink dresses Mum used to put her in and her hair in pigtails. I guess when Harry ended it with her I didn't realize yet how Death Eaters wouldn't give a fuck if she wasn't of age; they'd still kill her anyway. I was just so angry that he hurt her. You weren't here at the very beginning of the summer Hermione; she cried for weeks after the school year ended. She tried to hide it, but sometimes I would catch her and she'd claim it was because of Dumbledore, but I knew better."

"Things are different now, Ron. Can't you give them a second chance, now that their situation is somewhat normal?

"I guess so," Ron said, although not entirely convincing her that he meant it.

"No," Hermione said shaking her head. "No, Ron. You have to truly forgive Harry and forget what happened before. And this time, if he messes up, I give you full permission to pummel him if need be. And that's because I know he's not going to mess up. He's in love with her, you know."

"I know," Ron replied.

"You know?" She asked.

"Yeah, Harry told me."

"Harry told you? When?" She had never known Ron and Harry to talk about such topics.

"One night last year when we were on the run and you were on watch. He just blurted it out; said that he wanted to have at least told someone in case… you know." She did know. During those long months, she had often thought with dread about the possibility of dying and taking the secret of her love for Ron with her.

"She loves him just as much," Hermione said quietly.

Ron answered her with a noncommittal nod and then cleared his throat loudly. "Alright, I don't need to think too much about my sister and best mate being in love and what that might lead to." She laughed at his joke, while privately thinking that what Ron was alluding to had already happened, and wondering what Ron's reaction would be if he found out.

"Ron? Can I ask you something?" She asked, abruptly changing the topic.

"Sure, love," he answered.

"You're not angry with me, right?"

"What? Why?"

"Because of last night…"

"Hermione, I told you that you can wake me up at any hour of the night-"

"No. Not that," she said quickly, cutting him off.

"Oh! You mean... No! I told you, we can go at whatever pace you want."

"Okay... if you're sure…"

"Of course I'm sure, Hermione. Where's this coming from?"

If she were being honest, she didn't know where it was coming from. She had never felt like this before; so out of control. Some of it was a whimsical and exciting type of out of control: being in love. It was scary to feel such deep feelings that she had no power over, but it was also exhilarating to be experiencing love; something she had thought she would never get to experience.

But the other half was horrifying nightmares and anxiety, not to mention the bodily harm that had been inflicted upon her along with any mental scars that she couldn't see. Fleetingly, she thought of Neville's parents. Had they gone insane immediately, or had it been slow and torturous?

"I don't want to loose you…" she whispered.

"Hermione, I think you're being too hard on yourself," Ron said. She hadn't expected him to say that.

"How so?" She asked, a bit defensive.

"Look, maybe I've pushed this whole being a teenager thing too much. I just want you to have some fun, but that doesn't mean that you have to force yourself to be something that you're not. Just because you think that you're not having a normal reaction to things doesn't mean that there's something wrong with you."

She paused to take in Ron's words. Maybe he was right. She had always been a perfectionist, feeling like she had to achieve the highest caliber of excellence so as to prove herself in the wizarding world. Now, because she was out of control of so many things, she was having a hard time dealing with it.

"You're right, Ron," she admitted.

Ron puffed out his chest, looking proud of himself. "Would you like an escort downstairs to breakfast?" He asked in a goofy manner, hopping off the bed and holding his arm out for her to take.

"Why, thank you. What a gentleman," she replied, playing along. Lately, he had so often somehow found a way of making her feel better, even when she was at her lowest.

* * *

 _Author's note: Thanks for waiting and continuing to follow!_


	34. Chapter 34

_Author's note: Hello devoted readers! Apologies for this chapter taking so long, but I haven't had a lot of time to work on it, and on top of that I'm a bit of a perfectionist. Anyway, as always, happy reading!_

* * *

It was an abnormally hot day for May. By the end of breakfast, she was already sweating through her flannel pajamas, and the temperature in the house seemed to be rising by the second. When she returned to Ginny's room, instead of throwing on her usual jeans and t-shirt, she grabbed one of her few sundresses to wear in an effort to beat the heat. Glancing in the mirror, she saw her reflection and for the first time in months thought that she actually looked pretty. The sundress cinched in her waist at the perfect place, and hugged her breasts in a way that made it look like she had some curves. Maybe she would doll herself up a bit to make herself feel better; she hadn't felt like this in a long time. Releasing her ponytail, she let her hair flow down her back the way she knew Ron liked it. She also used a few beauty charms to put some color in her cheeks and darken her eye lashes, then finished her look off with a bit of lip gloss. She made her way downstairs to get started on any chores that Mrs. Weasley needed to be done for the day, when suddenly she came face to face with Ron.

"Woah," he said, stopping short and gaping at her. "Hermione, you look gorgeous." He grabbed her waist lightly and ran his hands up and down her sides.

"Thank you, Ron," she replied, blushing at his genuine compliment.

"You're so beautiful," he murmured, reaching behind her back and finding a lock of her hair to twirl between his fingers.

"I'm glad you think so," she said quietly, noticing that his lips had somehow found the juncture between her neck and collarbone.

"I know so," he mumbled against her neck. He was pulling her closer now, seemingly unable to resist crushing his own body against her's whenever they were near each other.

"Ron, your mother needs me," she sighed, thinking that if all she ever did was give into her temptation for Ron she would never get anything done.

"Oh, er, right," he replied, stepping away from her and turning red. She noticed that he couldn't seem to stop his eyes from roaming up and down her body. Apparently, he liked her in dresses.

"You alright? She asked, smirking at him.

"Oi, what's so funny? You know how I get when you look like this Hermione."

"Actually, I don't, Ron. Please enlighten me," she said, only half joking. She did actually want to know more about his desire for her.

"You all dressed up drives me crazy. Fuck… the Yule Ball, last summer at the wedding… you're telling me you didn't notice me bloody well staring at you the entire time?"

"Maybe only a little bit," she giggled.

"I can't help it. It's your damn feminine wiles."

"Well, would you like me to tone it down?" She teased.

"No! By all means, continue while I suffer in silence," he said with a wink.

She grabbed his hand and steered them down the stairs. "Well, it's not like you have to anymore. You could do something about it now, you know," she said as they walked through the kitchen door.

"Too true," he responded, waggling his eyebrows at her.

"Ugh. Ron, please don't tell me that was an attempt at seduction on your part. Did you not read that book we got you?" Hermione looked up and was surprised to see George sitting at the kitchen table.

"Er, what book?" Ron asked shakily, trying to subtly shake his head at George.

George either didn't notice, or did notice and thus tried to embarrass Ron even further. "You know, that one about charming witches!"

"George! I really don't know what you're talking about!" Ron shouted.

"Sure you do! Remember? Your attempts at trying to get into Granger's pants were so awful that we took pity on you and gave it to give you some advice? By the way, did you ever get to chapter twelve? Most of those moves are probably a bit advanced for you, but if she's willing to give you a few tries-"

"George-" Ron began again, but just then Mrs. Weasley burst into the room with a basket of laundry under one arm and her wand in another.

"There you three are! Hermione, dear, will you help me with this laundry? Ron and George, Harry needs help de-gnoming the garden. Well, move along then!" She urged when the boys didn't move quick enough for her liking.

Very suddenly, she was left alone with Mrs. Weasley. The older woman turned to her and smiled. "Come along, dear. I could use your help with hanging up the wash." Hermione nodded and followed her, while thinking that no help would be necessary to hang up the wash, considering that a spell could do it in a few seconds.

They journeyed to the clothesline outside, where Hermione could just make out Ron, Harry, and George chucking gnomes at the other side of the property. One of the gnomes must have bitten Ron, because she heard him yell "Fuck!" loudly before she saw a gnome go whizzing through the air.

She heard Mrs. Weasley tutt. "The mouth on him! I can't tell you the number of conversations I've had with him about that filthy habit of his!" Hermione chuckled in response, taking Mrs. Weasley's lead and picking up the wet clothing to hang it the muggle way. By now, she had a feeling as to why Mrs. Weasley had asked for her help.

"Actually, Ron is what I wanted to talk to you about, Hermione," Mrs. Weasley said in an obvious attempt at nonchalance.

"Oh?" Hermione responded.

"Yes. How are things between the two of you?" Mrs. Weasley asked brightly.

"Um, good. Great!" She replied.

"Wonderful...wonderful…" Mrs. Weasley murmured in response. "Now, I'm sure you know my opinion on the two of you traveling to Australia together."

"Mrs. Weasley-" The older woman only held her hand up to signal Hermione to stop talking.

"I've made my peace with it, dear. I'm not happy about it, but Ron and I have had a few long conversations, and he has expressed to me his feelings for you and why he feels like he must accompany you. Only, are you sure that you want to go alone? Can't you consider allowing Kingsley to send some of his Aurors?"

Hermione tried to process Mrs. Weasley's words as quickly as possible. She hadn't known that Ron had had follow up conversations with his mother concerning her. "I'm sorry, Mrs. Weasley. I can't. I have to do this on my own. I did this to them," she said quickly, holding back tears.

Mrs. Weasley turned toward her. "Oh, sweetheart, I know how much you must miss them!" She hurried toward Hermione and enveloped her in a nurturing hug. Before Hermione knew what was happening, she was clinging to Mrs. Weasley and sobbing on her shoulder. "There, there. Everything will be alright," she soothed, stroking Hermione's hair gently and squeezing her tighter.

For the first time in over a year, Hermione reveled in feeling motherly comfort. She had been independent for so long that at this point she had convinced herself that she didn't need a mother's love. Obviously, she had been wrong. "I want my mum," she choked out, burying her head further into Mrs. Weasley's shoulder.

"I know, dear. I know. You'll find her. And your father, too."

"I thought I would never see them again," Hermione cried quietly.

"You will," Mrs. Weasley replied.

"Thank you, Mrs. Weasley. I'm sorry that Ron is coming with me," she sniffed.

"Don't be sorry, dear. I'd rather he go than you go alone. You're as good as my child as well." Hermione only nodded into Mrs. Weasley's shoulder, overcome with emotion that she was seen as a daughter in Mrs. Weasley's eyes. "Of course I'll be worried sick about the both of you. And Ron is my baby boy. It will be hard to let him go again."

"We'll look out for each other, I promise," Hermione said, pulling herself out of Mrs. Weasley's grip and wiping the tears from her eyes.

"I don't doubt it. You feel strongly for him, do you not?"

Hermione nodded. "I love him."

Mrs. Weasley merely nodded in response. "And you're taking the proper precautions?"

"Huh?" Hermione asked, confused as to what Mrs. Weasley could possibly mean.

"While I don't condone it, I'm not naive, Hermione. I've spoken to Ron about this, but I feel like I need to make sure you're alright as well, seeing as your mother isn't here to talk to you right now."

Suddenly, she understood what Mrs. Weasley meant. "Oh! No! We're not, I mean, that hasn't happened-"

"Hermione, I just need to know that you're being safe. Can you tell me that much?"

She nodded. "Yes."

Mrs. Weasley smiled. "Good. Now, I have some recipes to teach you so you'll have some food to take on your trip." She turned and walked back toward the house, motioning for Hermione to follow her. Just like that, the conversation was over.

Hermione glanced across the yard to see Ron staring at her with a concerned look on his face. He made a move to walk toward her, but she shook her head. He nodded, but gave her a look that seemed to say that he wanted to talk about it later.

She spent the better half of the morning in the kitchen with Mrs. Weasley. By the end of their lesson, Hermione felt confident in her ability to cook a decent chicken or bake an edible treacle tart. She planned on asking Mrs. Weasley the recipes for some of Ron's favorite foods, in the back of her mind thinking that maybe there would come a day where she flitted around in a kitchen that she and Ron called their own.

She felt happy about her time spent bonding with Mrs. Weasley. The older woman was like a second mother in her eyes, but every moment spent with her was a constant reminder about the absence of her own mother. Mrs. Weasley was amazing, but she couldn't fill the void that had been created when Hermione had erased her parents memories and watched them pack their bags and walk out the front door without a glance in her direction.

"Can you call everyone in for lunch, Hermione?"

Mrs. Weasley's voice startled her and jolted her out of her sad thoughts. Hermione nodded and realized that it was past noon already. She ventured out to the backyard where Ron, Harry, Ginny, and George had struck up a game of two-a-side quidditch.

"There's food in here if you want it!" She yelled up to the four of them. Even from far away, she could see Ron's face light up, and he was the first one to hit the ground next to her.

"Food? Brilliant!" Ron exclaimed, grabbing her hand and walking with her to the kitchen.

The other three entered shortly after them. Harry was bringing up the rear, sporting a goofy grin on his face that he couldn't seem to resist shooting at Ginny whenever she turned to look at him.

"Harry! You're certainly looking happier than I've seen you look in ages! I'm so glad that you're feeling better, dear," Mrs. Weasley commented from her place at the sink. Harry's face went bright red and he mumbled something about it being the fresh air.

Ron ate his food rather quickly, and she could sense him eyeing her in expectation for her to finish her meal as well once he was done. She looked at him in exasperation as she ate her last spoonful. He simply grabbed her hand and all but dragged her up the stairs to his room, shutting the door behind them.

"What did Mum say to you?" Ron asked, not wasting a moment and getting right to the point.

"Nothing bad, Ron. We just had a conversation."

Ron looked annoyed. "Well, I know that, Hermione. What was it about?"

She didn't particularly like how demanding he was being. "You know, I don't have to tell you everything, Ron-"

"Look, I just want to make sure that she didn't say anything… insensitive. I've been filling her in on some things here and there, but she doesn't know about what happened to you."

Oh. She should have known that his demanding attitude would turn into some roundabout reason for protecting her. "No. She didn't say anything like that."

"Good. Nothing too embarrassing about me, I hope?" He added, joking.

"No. Well, there was one comment about you being her baby boy."

Ron winced dramatically. "Guess I'll never be able to shake that one."

Hermione smiled. Last year, or even a few months ago, a comment about him being the baby boy of the family would have sent him into a passive aggressive rage. Now, he seemed to be taking it in stride.

"She just wanted to talk to me about Australia."

"Damn it, I told her to leave you alone about that-"

"It's alright, Ron. I mean, she did try to talk me out of it a little, but when I held firm on my decision she gave me her blessing. It's only because she loves you so much, you know. I… I think she loves me a lot as well," she added.

"Of course Mum loves you! She always has! Every summer she was always asking me when you were coming."

"She was?" Hermione asked.

Ron nodded. "Yeah, she thought you were a good influence on me or something like that."

"Well, I don't know about that. I mean, we have gotten into some trouble together, you and I."

"What she doesn't know won't hurt her," Ron replied with a wink.

Hermione smiled at him. "Oh! And, I'm almost done organizing and packing everything for the trip! Now, I'd just like to ask your dad if I could get the the itinerary for all of our portkeys..."

"Nice. You're always so great at planning, love."

She turned to him and smirked. "Thanks, Ron. Tell me, is there a chapter on compliments in that book of yours?"

Ron winced. "Er, I don't know what George was talking about-"

"I think he was talking about _Twelve Fail-Safe Ways to Charm Witches_ , if I'm not mistaken," she said, crossing her arms and staring at him, silently daring him to try to deny it.

Ron looked shocked. "What!? How do you know that? How do you know everything!?"

"I found it when I was cleaning up your room and packing for you last year, Ronald. I must say that I was a bit surprised to find that you had a book on how to pick up women."

"Not women, Hermione. Woman. I just read it to figure out how I could get you."

She smiled. Admittedly, when she had found that book last year she didn't know what to think. It had been immediately following the whole Lavender ordeal, and part of her thought that maybe Ron had plans to win her back.

"I mean, women are already hard enough to figure out, but you were a whole different level of confusing."

"While I do approve of your dedication to research, I don't quite know what you mean by confusing. What's so confusing about me asking you to Slughorn's Christmas party? I thought that was a pretty direct way to let you know I fancied you."

Ron ran his hands over his face. "How was I supposed to know that you meant it to be as more than friends!?"

"Well, if you would have actually followed through on your word and gone with me, you would have seen that I planned to make a move that night!"

"You did?" Ron asked quietly.

"Yes! I thought that we would have a nice time, and then when you walked me back to the common room I was going to kiss you goodnight at the bottom of the stairs before we went up to bed."

"You were?" Ron said even more quietly.

"Yes! Is it that much of a surprise, Ron?"

"Well, it would bloody well have been to me at the time! I thought that I didn't have a chance with you, so I would have been fucking shocked if you started snogging me in the Gryffindor common room, Hermione!"

"What would you have done if I did?" She asked.

"Snogged you back, of course."

"Oh really?"

"Well, I probably would have tried to get away with a bit more than that," he said, grinning and running his eyes over her body for the hundredth time that day.

She playfully slapped his chest. "I would not have allowed that to happen, Ronald! Not on our first date!"

"Okay, what about the second one?"

"Maybe…" She said, pretending to ponder his question.

"Hey! You know what I just realized?" Ron asked, his eyes lighting up.

"What?" She giggled.

"We've never gone on an actual date!"

"Oh. You're right," she said, trying to hold back her grin. The girly side of her didn't seem to be able to disguise itself. The prospect of going on a date with Ron made her feel giddy.

Ron grabbed her hands and looked deeply into her eyes. "Hermione, would you like to go on a date with me?"

Her smile couldn't help but emerge at this point. "Yes! Of course I would Ron! Only, how are we going to go out in public? I'm not sure if it would be a great idea to us to remain in one place with a lot of people for a long duration of time…"

"Don't worry about that, Hermione. Just leave it to me. Meet me downstairs around seven, alright?" He asked, looking more and more excited as he spoke.

"Okay," she agreed. She couldn't say no to him when he had the same look on his face that he used to get when talking about chocolate frog cards.

"Brilliant," he said, leaning in to kiss her on the forehead.


	35. Chapter 35

_Author's Note: Fair warning: sexual content in this chapter! Don't read if sexy times offend you. Otherwise, read on!_

* * *

Hermione spent the entire day eagerly anticipating her date with Ron. The more time that went by, the more excited she became. Finally, the clock chimed out six times, and she figured that one hour early was time enough to prepare for the date. Venturing up to Ginny's room, she stepped inside to find Ginny in her usual perch on her bed.

"Hermione, after dinner can you make yourself scarce? Harry's coming over early."

"That's fine Ginny. I'm not even coming to dinner," she mentioned casually, knowing that Ginny would inquire as to why she would not be attending dinner and feeling giddy at the excuse to talk about her date with Ron.

Ginny took the bait. "What? Why?"

"Ron and I have a date," Hermione said, barely able to contain her smile.

"Oh! How exciting! What are you two doing?"

"Well...I'm not exactly sure. But, as long as we're together I know it will be great," she replied dreamily.

Ginny rolled her eyes. "Once again with the googly eyes over my brother, Hermione. Really, will this behavior ever cease?"

"I don't think so, Gin," Hermione answered honestly.

Ginny sighed. "Very well. Can I help you get ready, at least?"

Hermione nodded. "That's what I was hoping you would help me with."

Ginny nodded her head seriously. "You already look gorgeous, so we won't have to do much. How about you change into a longer dress and brush your hair out again? I'll add a little more makeup. Oh, and wear another set of your lingerie!"

An hour later, Hermione had changed into a floor length dress that Ginny had in the back of her closet with a matching bra and knickers set underneath it, coupled with a pair of Ginny's high heels. Her hair had been styled neatly down her back, and Ginny had done her makeup beautifully. The entire outfit was much more glamorous an ensemble than Hermione would ever consider wearing, but Ginny insisted that she looked stunning. She took a vial of her potion and drank it as well, remembering that she would not be coming back to the room.

She took off down the stairs, becoming more nervous with each step. What if the way she was dressed did not comply with what Ron had planned? Her nerves faded quickly when she saw Ron standing in the sitting room dressed nicely in a muggle button up shirt with a collar and trousers. He was holding a bouquet of flowers and his eyes lit up when he saw her. He rushed toward her and held out his arm for her to take, while simultaneously thrusting the flowers into her other hand.

"You look amazing," he whispered in her ear, although they were the only two people in the room.

"Thanks. Where did you get the muggle clothes?" She whispered back.

"Harry lent them to me and I enlarged them. I thought it would be fun to have a muggle date," he answered, leading her out the back door and through the yard.

"Oh, Ron! How wonderful! Only, are we going out in public?" They were edging closer to the boundary line and the thought of being out in public for a long period of time in a muggle restaurant worried her. If something happened, she didn't want to put muggles in danger.

"No. If it's alright, I thought we would just stay here." He pointed ahead of them, and she looked where he was directing her gaze. Just ahead of them, underneath the big tree that signaled the ward boundary line, sat a big blanket spread out with a picnic basket next to it.

The sight made her tear up. It reminded her of all of those picnics spent with her parents in the Forest of Dean. She felt more happiness than sadness, though. Any connection with her parents right now was something she reveled in. How could Ron have chosen something so perfect?

Ron was still puttering on, continuing to talk. "I asked Harry about good ideas for a muggle date and he thought you would like this. I think it's kind of barmy to put everything in a basket when you could just summon it, but he said it was an important part of-"

Ron cut himself off when he turned and saw the tears in her eyes. "What's wrong? Do you not like it?"

"No! I love it Ron! It's perfect!" She answered, throwing her arms around his neck and squeezing him as tightly as she could.

"Then why the bloody hell are you crying?"

"That's how much I love it," she explained. Ron looked at her like he still did not understand. "Trust me, it's perfect," she assured him.

He grinned at her. "Well, brilliant. Let me escort you to your seat."

She nodded and took his arm again. He sat her down gently at one end of the blanket, then sat down opposite from her.

"What is on the menu for tonight?" She asked.

"Tonight, we'll be having sandwiches and butterbeer," Ron answered. "Mum helped me make them," he added sheepishly.

"I should hope so. I don't know if I would trust anything that you made on your own," she joked.

"Oi! I'm not that helpless!" She shot him a look of disbelief. "Okay, maybe I'm a little helpless," he admitted as he pulled out plates and sandwiches, then tossed her a butterbeer. "I filled this thing to the brim. I still haven't been able to master that undetectable extension charm. I don't know how you do it, Hermione. I tried it with this basket and lost the first batch of sandwiches."

"I can teach you," she offered, reaching for the basket.

"Later, love," Ron said. "Aren't you hungry?"

"Now that you mention it, I am," she agreed. Sometimes, she didn't even register her hunger. All of those months coping with starvation allowed for her to easily ignore a slight emptiness in her stomach when she had gone for days without food before.

She picked up her sandwich and bit into it, and Ron followed her lead by eagerly doing the same. After sitting with Ron during many meals in the Great Hall, Hermione knew to expect silence for the next ten to twenty minutes. Ron loved to concentrate on his food when he ate and wasn't much for talking.

She took the time to think quietly to herself. Her thoughts turned once again to her parents, and the Australia mission. The more she thought about it, the more worried she became. Was it stupid to go off on another dangerous mission when they had so recently come back from the last one and had only just gotten away with their lives? She wasn't sure.

"I have one more surprise," Ron said, now apparently done eating his sandwich and interrupting her thoughts. He reached into the basket and pulled out his radio. "Would you like to dance with me?" He asked, turning the dial and grinning at her when a slow song began to melodiously come out of the speakers.

"Of course I would," she answered, excited at the prospect of dancing a slow dance with Ron. The only other time they had danced together had been to a fast paced song at the wedding last summer, in which Ron had kept a safe distance between the two of them. She stood and wrapped her arms around his neck, and his hands immediately went around her waist. They swayed together on the spot, and she leaned her head against his shoulder.

"Remember the last time we did this?" Ron asked softly in her ear.

"I don't recall us ever dancing like this before."

"At the wedding, remember?"

"This is a bit different, don't you think?" She asked, pressing her entire body up against his. She felt him nod against her neck.

"I wish we could stay like this forever," Ron said quietly.

"Me too," she agreed.

Dusk turned to night, but somehow the darkness made everything even more beautiful. The dimness of the nightfall made her experience a kind of serenity that she couldn't recall ever feeling before. She marveled at how one with nature you could feel at the burrow. There were no muggle street lights; the only luminescence came from the moon and the many stars above their heads. The song ended, but they continued to sway silently on the spot. Finally, Ron led her back toward the the blanket, signaling for her to sit back down.

"I couldn't figure out how to do those blue flames as well as you make them, but I brought some jars," Ron said, pulling few jars out of the basket and setting them down gently on the blanket.

She smiled at him and made some of her blue flames, sending them into the jars and closing the lids with a wave of her wand.

"Brilliant," he muttered.

"Ron, do you think we're being stupid?"

Ron adopted a horrified expression on his face. "What? Why?" He asked, seeming panicked.

"Going to Australia? I know we've traveled before, but what if we just got lucky last time? Something could go wrong. I can't possibly plan for everything, even though I try…"

Ron looked relieved. "Oh! I thought you meant-" he stopped short, cutting himself off. "But no, I don't think we're being stupid. I think this is something you need to do and I want to come with you."

She furrowed her brow, confused as to what he had initially been talking about. Then, it dawned on her. "Did you think I was talking about our relationship?"

Ron looked sheepish. "Er, yeah."

"Ron! How could you think that?"

"I'm sorry, Hermione. It's just that sometimes I wonder why you're with me. I keep thinking maybe you'll come to your senses and chuck me."

She grabbed his shoulders and made him look into her eyes. "Ron, I never want to end things with you. You have to stop thinking so badly about yourself."

He looked down at the ground. "I know," he said quietly. Then, he looked back up into her eyes. "But you do too. You're too hard on yourself. You always have been."

She wanted to argue with him, but at the last second just sighed and nodded. "Honestly, Ron, I've thought that maybe you'll come to your senses and chuck me."

"What!?" Ron asked, sounding shocked. "Why would I chuck you?"

"You know why," she said, thinking about her mental problems.

"Hermione, nothing could happen that would make me want to end things with you. I can't be without you. Not now. Not after everything we've been through." He brought her hand up to his lips and kissed it.

"I can't be without you either. You're my best friend, you know," she said sincerely.

"You're mine, too," he replied.

She thought that maybe those years of friendship spent in uncertainty as to whether or not their relationship would progress to something more were worth it. They both knew the qualities each other possessed that made them a good friend. Now, the exciting part was finding out about the romantic side as well.

Ron grabbed two rocks and conjured them into pillows, not trying to hide the proud expression on his face as he did so. He then grabbed her hand and pulled her down with him until they were laying on their backs, gazing up at the stars. Their hands were still intertwined, and she began to lazily trace a pattern on the back of his hand with her thumb.

"Thanks for taking me out tonight. I had a great time," she said, trying to act how she imagined one would act at the end of a date.

Ron caught on and played along. "Sure thing. Can I kiss you goodnight?"

"Yes," she said quickly.

Even in the dim blue light, she could see him grin. He turned only his head to the side, and she followed his lead by turning her head and touching her lips to his. It started out gently; just soft pecking. Very quickly, it turned to something much more as they both turned onto their sides and continued to kiss more deeply and passionately. The fire between the two of them was undeniable; Hermione felt as though every inch of her body that was touching Ron's flowed with electricity. How much of this was just pure teenage lust, and how much could be attributed to the fact that she and Ron had to be meant for each other? Surely, two people had never loved each other as much as they did. This passion between them had to be something knew they were discovering that was all their own.

Ron was on top of her now, grinding his pelvis into hers. She responded back enthusiastically and aggressively thrust her tongue into his mouth. He moaned, and she moaned back. Soon, the two of them were rolling around on the blanket, both of them being far more vocal than they ever had before. There was a sense of seclusion that came with being under the darkness of night, far away from the house. Both of them seemed to be feeling it, allowing for them to release their inhibitions much more than they ever had.

Ron thrust against her, hard, and she groaned. "Merlin, Ron. That feels good."

"Yeah? You like that?" He asked, his voice filled with lust.

She merely nodded against his shoulder. "Let's go back up to your room," she said. As much fun as their one trist up against the tree had been, she desired to be more comfortable for what she planned on doing.

"Okay, yeah," he responded. He grabbed his wand, but a second later placed it back down on the blanket. "I don't think I'm in any shape to apparate right now," he added sheepishly, glancing down at the bulge in his trousers.

"Neither am I," she admitted, and his eyebrows rose in surprise.

"Blimey, Hermione. You not being able to apparate?"

"What can I say? There's this wizard who insists on working me into a lust-filled frenzy every time we're together."

Ron looked rather proud of himself, but nevertheless played along "Really? Do I know the bloke?"

"Well, I can tell you this: he's very handsome, and tall, and brave. He can also be very sweet when he wants to be."

"Sounds like a prick."

"He's not. Most of the time."

Her comment caused Ron to smile. However, he gave up on their little game and broke character. "Let's go, Hermione. I don't know how much more of this I can take." The look on his face was urgent, as if he needed to get her into his bed as quickly as possible. She nodded in agreement, and jumped up very suddenly, waving her wand to transfigure the rocks back to their former selves and stash all of their belongings back into the basket. Ron only looked surprised at her quick magic for a second, then merely grinned at her.

"Well, what are you waiting for?" She asked, holding her hand out to him.

He jumped up quickly, grabbing the picnic basket with one hand and her hand with the other, then all but yanked her toward the house. They took off running back to the burrow like a couple of fools, with her giggling the entire way.

It was a miracle that they managed to make it past the sitting room and up the many flights of stairs without bumping into anyone. Once they reached Ron's doorway, he nudged her inside and shut the door quickly. Then, he grabbed her hand again and led her toward his bed, pushing her onto it and laying his entire body down on top of hers. He stopped then, breathing heavily and lifting his head up to look into her eyes.

"Fuck, Hermione," he breathed, almost sounding like he was in pain.

"What's wrong, Ron?" She asked, alarmed.

"Nothing. It almost hurts to look at you; you're so beautiful."

Coming from any other person, she might have rolled her eyes at the cheesiness of that comment. But this was Ron, and she could tell that he was being sincere. She responded by leaning up from her position underneath him to touch her lips to his.

His response was swift, as he immediately deepened the kiss and ran his fingers through her hair, wrapping his arms around her and effortlessly lifting her to bring her head on top of a pillow. He was so strong. Everything about him turned her on in a way that she could have never imagined: the broadness of his shoulders, the deep calmness of his voice, his strong urge to protect her. She had the want- _no, the need_ \- to make him feel as turned on in return.

Without saying anything, she gently tapped his shoulder, indicating that she want to get on top. He happily obliged, and once she was on top of him she went straight for his belt buckle. She felt him grin against her mouth as he began to thrust his hips even more wildly against her hands.

"Ron, I won't be able to unbuckle it if you keep squirming," she giggled.

"Oh, right," he replied, going red.

She continued with her task, which was much easier now that Ron had gone still. The belt came undone, then the button and zipper, and very quickly she had him out of his boxers and in her hand. Not feeling as nervous as she had been the other times they had done this, she stroked him with what she had come to determine was the grip and speed that he most prefered. She was awarded when he moaned and threw an arm across his eyes, as if the sight of her touching him was too much for him to bare. Wondering if he could handle what she had planned, she asked, "Is it okay if I…?" then made a move to bring her mouth closer to him.

He looked at her like she had just inquired whether or not he liked quidditch, or chocolate frogs, or chess. "Are you serious!? Of course it's okay!"

She nodded, about to take him into her mouth when she remembered what else he had liked the last time she did this. Without missing a beat, she pulled her dress over her head and then unhooked her bra, pulling it off and dropping it somewhere on the floor. Ron's eyes bugged out of his head, but quickly closed in pleasure as she took him into her mouth, bobbing up and down. He opened his eyes and looked at her in apparent awe, and she grinned to the best of her ability.

"You like this, don't you?"

She realized that he had asked her that question. He was suggesting that she liked doing this to him. She pondered the question, realizing that she did like it. She liked seeing him lose control like this and knowing that she was the one who had caused it. She liked knowing that she was the only girl who had ever been with him this intimately. She loved seeing proof of his attraction to her, and the look of pure bliss on his face. There was also a part of her that loved how primal this was; how overtly sexual. Up until now, she hadn't the time for sexual experiences, what with trying to save the world taking up most of her time. It was becoming more and more apparent to her that Ron loved seeing the sexual side of her. During her thought process, Ron had begun to moan and writhe, and she could tell that he was about to climax. A few seconds later, he did, and she quickly swallowed.

"Holy fuck, Hermione," Ron breathed. She crawled back up toward him and snuggled against his chest.

"Like that, did you?" She asked.

"That was bloody fantastic," Ron answered.

"You know what you could do for me?" She asked, feeling unlike herself.

"Yeah?" Ron breathed.

"Tell me more about what you find attractive about me." His hand automatically went to her hair.

Hermione giggled. He was going for her hair again. She was quickly beginning to realize that there were certain parts of her that Ron automatically gravitated to. She wondered if he had envisioned touching these parts of her for a long time, and now that he had permission to due so he was relishing in it.

"What's so funny?" He asked absently.

"My hair, Ron. You're touching my hair again."

"It's fucking gorgeous, love. I can't help it."

"Have you always thought so?"

"Of course! I've wanted to touch you like this for so long, Hermione." So, she had been right.

"Oh really? What did you think about doing if you ever got the opportunity?"

"Well… just this. You know, running my fingers through it." His answer was not entirely convincing.

"Just this? Nothing a bit more… naughty?"

She heard Ron audibly gulp. "What do you mean, Hermione?"

"I think you know what I mean, Ron. Maybe you could… tell me?" She asked, grabbing his hand and trailing it under the waistband of her knickers. She didn't know where this sudden bout of wantonness was coming from.

"Hermione… I don't want you to think I'm some sort of pervert…"

"I won't, Ron! I want to hear about how you think of me… sexually."

"Alright," Ron agreed, sliding his hand under her knickers and touching her bare skin. "Okay, yeah. If you're sure."

"Go ahead," she encouraged, already writhing slightly against him.

"Well, I'd think about all of that gorgeous hair you have, and how great it would look spread all around you as you laid under me."

"Why would I be under you?" She teased.

He growled, and something in him seemed to snap. When he spoke again, his voice had adopted a much deeper tone. "Because, Hermione, I'd be fucking you."

"I see. And what would happen next?" She panted, almost at her climax already as she writhed against him. His dirty mouth did wonders for her libido.

"Then, I'd roll over and you'd be on top, sliding up and down on me with all that beautiful hair falling around the two of us like a waterfall." She was picturing his description in her mind, and it allowed her to climax; hard. She tried to muffle her cries by grabbing onto him and biting his shoulder, remembering at the last second that they hadn't silenced the room. Ron rubbed her back gently and kissed her forehead.

"That was amazing, Ron," she breathed. She felt him grin against her head.

She allowed for a few minutes to pass by before she spoke again. "Ron? Can I borrow your clothes again?"

"Sure thing," he answered, jumping up and rummaging in his drawer for a t-shirt. He tossed one to her, and she pulled it on.

"Come here," she said, holding out her arms and motioning for him to join her back on his bed.

He laid back down and she put her head against his heart, smiling when she heart the fast and steady beat.


	36. Chapter 36

_Author's note: Hello everyone! Thanks again for the continued reviews and support! I truly love each and every one of you, and love writing for you guys._

* * *

"We should probably go brush our teeth," Hermione said, always one to enforce dental hygiene. Growing up, she was always taught to never go to bed without brushing her teeth.

"Okay," Ron agreed, but made no move to get up, and hugged her closer to his body.

"I'm serious, Ron! Dental hygiene is very important to me! My parents would be livid if they knew I went this long after a meal without cleaning my teeth!"

"Alright, alright," Ron sighed, sitting up and pulling her up with him.

"Can I wear your robe?" She asked, looking around the slightly messy room for Ron's robe.

"Why? I rather like how you look right now," Ron said, staring at her bare legs.

"Would you like to deal with George taking the mickey out of us if he runs into us looking like this?" she asked, gesturing at Ron's shirtless body and her scantily clad body.

"Good point," Ron agreed with a nod.

She wrapped herself in Ron's large robe, glancing in the floor length mirror and laughing out loud at how it seemed to swallow her up.

"Blimey! Where did you go?" Ron teased.

"Ha ha, very funny. Let's go," she said, grabbing his hand and steering him out the door and toward the loo.

They reached their destination and she spotted her toothbrush in the cup of toothbrushes immediately, being that it was bright pink in contrast to the other boring colors. She had a quick flashback of the memories of brushing her teeth every morning and night in the tent; her brightly colored toothbrush always stood out against Ron's and Harry's. She felt ridiculous, but after months on the run with two boys she had begun to go out of her way to still feel like a girl. Changing her toothbrush color to pink, spritzing some perfume on every morning, applying some lip gloss to her chapped lips, wearing frilly pajamas- all were attempts to try to retain some of her femininity.

"Ah, here you go. Good old pinky," Ron said, grabbing her toothbrush and handing it to her.

"How did you know this one is mine?" Hermione asked.

"Well, it only sat in the loo of the tent every single day. I figured it wasn't Harry's," Ron replied.

"Oh. Of course," she said, reaching for the toothpaste and putting some on her brush before running it under the tap and beginning to clean her teeth. She sat on the ledge of the tub, and watched Ron as he did the same with his own toothbrush.

Ron leaned against the door, smiling at her despite the fact that the toothbrush in his mouth made it more difficult for him to do so.

"What?" She asked.

"Nothing, you just look so adorable sitting there in my robe, Hermione," Ron answered.

She answered him with a smile and stood up to spit into the sink. Ron did the same, and she grabbed his hand to make their way back to his room. She opened the door quietly, only to immediately bump into someone standing directly outside of the loo.

"Oh!" The person let out a small feminine gasp. Hermione backed up slightly, registering that it was Fleur who was standing on the landing. " 'ermione! Sorry!"

"Don't worry about it, Fleur. What are you doing here?" Hermione asked, surprised to see Fleur wandering around the burrow when she and Bill had officially moved back into Shell Cottage.

"William spent ze night talking to Papa Weasley. Zey are steel talking, actually. I told William zat we should just stay 'ere tonight."

Hermione nodded, glancing at Ron to see if he looked as though he understood why Bill and his father would be up talking so late. Ron, however, seemed to be in some sort of an awkward trance, desperately trying to tear his eyes away from Fleur while simultaneously unable to look away.

Confused, Hermione looked back at Fleur, and only just registered the Veela's attire. She wore a white satin nightgown that ended high on her thigh and cut down low on her chest, barely covering her breasts. From the looks of it, that was all that she was wearing.

"Is Mr. Wesley alright, Fleur?" Hermione asked, sending Ron a meaningful look.

"I do not zink so," Fleur admitted, her beautiful smile turning down into a pretty frown.

That seemed to snap Ron out of his trance. "What's wrong with Dad?" He asked, now looking Fleur in the eyes.

"I zink zat 'e 'as been over worked. 'E would never admeet eet, but zat is what William zinks. Ze Ministry 'as added more 'ours, and cut 'is pay," Fleur answered, her frown turning into a somehow beautiful grimace.

"What? They can't do that!" Ron admonished a bit too loudly.

"Ron! Shh! You'll wake everyone up!" Hermione hissed. "Let's allow Fleur to return to bed. Why don't you ask Bill about this tomorrow?"

"Yeah, alright," Ron reluctantly agreed, turning away from the two women and walking back to his room alone. Hermione stared at his retreating figure, annoyed.

"Do not be so upset, 'ermione. I zink zat was just ze Weasley temper. 'e will calm down," Fleur spoke up quietly.

Hermione smiled at her. "Thanks, Fleur. Goodnight." Fleur smiled back, and Hermione turned, following Ron. However, she became more and more annoyed with each step that she took, not at all comforted by Fleur's words. How dare Ron have the nerve to oggle Fleur right in front of her and then rudely leave?

Suddenly, she felt more sad than annoyed. Ron had been staring at Fleur. Unable to take his eyes off of her, by the looks of it. She now felt ridiculous in Ron's big flannel robe compared to Fleur in her sexy nightgown. How could she ever measure up to that?

She burst into Ron's room, where he sat on the window sill with his head in his hands. "What, exactly, was that Ron?" She inquired, alluding to his abrupt departure.

Ron sighed. "I don't want to deal with a lecture right now, Hermione."

"A lecture? So I'm just supposed to keep my mouth shut when you do something that upsets me?"

Ron's features softened. "Look, I'm sorry. I know I was rude, but you know that I can get like that sometimes."

"Am I just supposed to take the explanation that you can 'get like that sometimes' as an excuse?" She bit back, still upset.

"Bloody hell, Hermione! I said I was sorry! It's not that big of a deal! I'm sure Fleur doesn't give a flying fuck about me walking away; she was probably focussed on getting back and warming up the bed for Bill!"

"What makes you so sure about that, Ron? Are you sure you were paying enough _attention_ to her?" Hermione spat.

The look of annoyance slipped off of Ron's face and was replaced by one of confusion. "What?" He asked.

"You heard me, Ron," she answered, crossing her arms over her chest and sitting down roughly on Ron's bed.

"Yeah, but what the bloody hell are you on about?"

"You know what I'm on about."

"No. I really don't."

"Ron! How can you not know what I'm talking about!?" She exclaimed.

"Hermione, we both know how thick I can be. Can you just bloody tell me?"

"Fine! Let's just say that if you put half as much effort into studying your school books as you did studying Fleur's breasts just now, you might have actually been a decent student!" She fumed.

"Oh. Er, yeah," Ron replied, shrugging.

"That's all you have to say!?"

"Don't be so mad, Hermione! You're not a man; you don't understand how strong her powers can be. I know you must have read plenty about it, though. She was probably turning on the charm for Bill when he got back to the room. Trust me, I don't like the fact that sometimes I can't control looking at my sister-in-law like that." Ron added in a tone of disgust.

Hermione froze, realizing that she had overreacted. "I'm sorry Ron. I shouldn't have been so short with you. I guess I just didn't like you looking at another woman. And considering that it was Fleur…"

"Why does it matter that it was Fleur?"

Hermione almost rolled her eyes. He really could be thick. "She's stunningly beautiful."

"Well, I know. That's not a big surprise, is it? She's part Veela."

"Compared to her, I'm so plain-"

"Hermione, you're honestly the most beautiful woman in the world to me," Ron interjected with quiet certainty, cutting her off.

"Oh please, Ron-"

"I mean it!" He exclaimed, cutting her off again. "So stop thinking that you're not, because you are!"

"Ron, shh! You'll wake the whole house!" She hissed.

"Alright, alright. But you have to believe me when I say I think that you're the most beautiful woman in the world, okay?"

"Okay," she agreed, standing up from her seat on the bed and walking toward him. She didn't agree with him, but she believed that he truly thought so. She sat down on Ron's lap and crossed her arms around his neck, remembering that he was sitting on the window sill because he had been upset. "Are you okay?" She asked.

Ron sighed again. "I don't think so. How could I have not realized that Dad has been working himself to the bone? And now they've cut his pay? How can they do that?"

"Well, they probably have to budget money to pay for different types of repairs, now that the war is over," Hermione reasoned.

"I don't bloody care! He deserves a fucking raise, with everything that he has done for them!"

"I know," Hermione agreed, laying her head against Ron's chest and rubbing his back soothingly.

"I have to pitch in somehow. I have to help my parents," Ron said fiercely.

"Ron, you don't have to do anything just yet. We haven't even been back a month. You being here is gift enough for them," Hermione said quietly, trying to calm him down.

"No, Hermione. I have to start helping them as soon as I can. I was thinking, when George finally starts the shop up again he'll need some help, right? Maybe I can help him out for the summer, and then I can give my earnings to Mum and Dad to help them out."

"Ron! That's a great idea! I'm sure George would be happy to have your help!"

"You wouldn't be embarrassed to have a boyfriend who works in a joke shop?" Ron asked.

"Of course not, Ron. I would be so proud of you," she answered. "I don't care what you do. I just want you to be happy."

"Okay. I'll bring it up to George tomorrow. I'm sure he wouldn't object to having some help for the summer," he said, giving her a squeeze.

For the first time, she wondered what would happen when the summer ended. Ron had said he wanted to help George for the summer, but what about after that? The summer would end, and then what would happen with her and Ron? They couldn't stay at the burrow forever, hiding from their problems and sneaking around Mrs. Weasley to cuddle together at night. For the first time in a long time, she was able to visualize herself alive months ahead from where she was now. Before, she had always been so concentrated on surviving another day. Now that there were days, weeks, months, and years easily foreseeable, it was all so overwhelming.

"Ron, once the summer is over, what do you think is going to happen to us?"

"What do you mean? Reckon we'll still be together, but it will be colder."

She giggled, but continued. "I'm serious, Ron. I want to go back to school. Don't you think that's what we should do?"

Ron suddenly looked uneasy. "You should," he replied, breaking eye contact with her and looking down.

"What do you mean? You should too! We need to finish our education! We said we would go back when all of this was over, remember?" She and Ron had talked about their dropping out of school last summer before they had collected Harry from Privet Drive. They both had agreed that the logical thing to do when everything was over would be to finish up seventh year.

"I know, but everything is different now. I can't go back there, Hermione. Not where he…" Ron trailed off, but she knew that he was talking about Fred.

"Ron, it will be okay. Harry and I will be there for you."

"Harry's not going back either," Ron mumbled.

"Oh," she replied, not knowing what else to say.

"Yeah. He said that he just can't picture himself going back to being a schoolboy, you know? Shuffling around to classes, writing essays… it all seems kind of trivial now."

"Trivial? It's your education, Ron."

"Love, I don't disagree with you. I think that you should go back. In fact, I know you should. But you're the most brilliant witch to ever live, and you love school. It would be barmy if you didn't do all seven years. You know that Harry and I half-arsed everything, and you were dragging us to class most of the time. We won't get anything out of going back."

"But Ron, how will I be able to be apart from you?" She choked out, sniffing against his shoulder.

"It's going to be fine, love. We don't have to worry about it right now," Ron said, running his fingers through her hair.

"But it's going to happen, isn't it?" She asked, pulling back slightly and staring into his eyes.

"Yeah," Ron sighed. "Look, I can't stand to see you this upset. I can think about going back if you really want me-"

"No, Ron. I don't want you to be unhappy," she said, shaking her head. Ron scooped her up in his arms and carried her back over to the bed, laying her down and climbing in next to her. She grasped for his hand in the dark and grabbed it, giving it a squeeze. "I really hate the idea of being apart from you, Ron," Hermione whispered as she felt a tear slip down her cheek.

"Come here," Ron said, tugging her arm across his chest so that the entire front of her body was pressed against him. She pulled her leg up and draped it across his stomach."I didn't mean to bring it up to you like that. I didn't want to make you cry."

"It's not your fault," she said with sincerity.

"Still, I don't like being the cause of your tears; I love you so much," he said, placing a kiss on the top of her head.

She simply snuggled closer to him, feeling more tired by the second. She tried in vain to fight sleep, wanting more than anything to remain conscious; in Ron's arms and listening to him tell her how much he loved her instead of in whatever hellish nightmare awaited her. But sleep was inevitable, and she dozed off with Ron's arms still around her.

* * *

 _Author's note: I think that it is important for them to still have arguements; makes it more realistic. I'm always struck by Hermione's "Just because it's taken you three years to notice, Ron, doesn't mean no one else has spotted I'm a girl!" comment. She obviously wants to feel like a woman and wants Ron to notice her as a woman. Starving and fighting a war for a year while living with two boys must have taken a toll on some of the more feminine aspects of herself, and I've been trying to touch on that._


	37. Chapter 37

_She had blacked out again. Hermione didn't know how long she had been unconscious, but suddenly Bellatrix's tyrannical voice was berating her ears, shrieking at her to stand up. She tried, not wanting to face Bellatrix's wrath if she did not comply. However, she couldn't stand; couldn't even summon enough energy to raise her head off of the cool marble floor._

 _Her torturer shrieked in fury. "I said, stand UP, Mudblood!" Bellatrix reached down and yanked her by the arms, roughly jerking them behind her back. Hermione screamed as she heard something pop, and deduced that Bellatrix had pulled her arm out of its socket. She cringed as she was forced to move closer to Bellatrix, unable to attempt to struggle away from her; the pain in her shoulder reluctantly making her move toward her capturer in search of some relief._

 _"I've got a little surprise for you, Mudblood," Bellatrix whispered, breath hot in her ear._

 _Terrified, she thought of Ron in the cellar. This was it. They were going to bring him up here and make her watch as they killed him. She could hear him screaming her name. In her mind, she begged him to stop, ridiculously thinking that if he quit making noise maybe the Death Eaters would forget his presence downstairs. She stared down at the floor, absurdly trying to communicate with Ron._

 _"Look up, Mudblood," Bellatrix snapped, grasping her by the hair and roughly yanking her head back. She was forced to look straight ahead at the entryway._

 _To her horror, her parents were being dragged into the room by Greyback. Her mother was crying and her father was screaming at Greyback to let go of his wife._

 _"No," she whispered, tears leaking from her eyes. She collapsed against Bellatrix, suddenly unable to stand._

 _Bellatrix sighed in anger, tossing her back onto the floor. "So weak, Mudblood. Won't even stand to see your filthy muggle parents get tortured?"_

 _Hermione stood on shaky legs, cradling her dislocated arm. "That's not possible! It's not them! I know it!" This had to be a trick. There was no way the Death Eaters had found her parents. If that were true, then she had lied and deceived them for nothing. What she saw before her had to be the result of some very powerful magic, or perhaps two unfortunate muggleborns forced to take polyjuice potion created with her parents' hair..._

 _"Don't believe me? Then I guess you wouldn't mind if I…" Bellatrix raised her wand, undoubtedly about to hit her parents with a curse._

 _"No!" Hermione yelled, unable to stop herself. Bellatrix's snarled turned into an evil grin._

 _"Hermione, darling, what's going on? Are you alright?" Her mother began, advancing toward her. Hermione began to plead with her to stop, but it was too late. Bellatrix shrieked Crucio and her mother let out a blood curdling scream, dropping to the floor and writhing in agony._

 _Hermione began her own advance, knowing she was probably next but unable to stop herself from attempting to help her mother, who now lay lifeless on the floor. Her mother was a muggle; unable to defend herself. She had only been trying to help her daughter; her only child..._

* * *

"Hermione, wake up!" Instantly, she recognized the sensation of Ron shaking her awake. She blinked her eyes open, and Ron immediately stopped shaking her. Their eyes locked for a second, and in that moment she saw all of his emotions quickly flicker across his face; concern for her, anger at her suffering, happiness that she had been relieved of it.

"Thank you for waking me," she said quietly.

He only nodded, his expression worried. "What was it this time, Hermione? You were… it seemed like you were gasping for air, or something. I only noticed you were having a nightmare because you started thrashing about and yanked the covers off of me…"

"My parents were there again…" she said shakily. Ron grimaced. "I can't believe I put them in so much danger, Ron. They're muggles. They would never have been able to defend themselves, and I knew that."

"What do you mean? You took them out of danger!" Ron exclaimed.

She shook her head. "I knew things were getting bad, but I didn't tell them. I went back to school sixth year and left them alone in that house… By then, everyone knew that I was Harry's friend; it would have been so easy to kidnap them to get to me. I was just so afraid they would pull me out of school if they knew…"

Ron scoffed. "Hermione, you think I told my parents half the shite we've gotten up to?"

"I didn't tell them anything about me, Ron. They knew things were getting bad, but they didn't know I had been petrified second year, or I had been hit with that curse fifth year." Ron didn't say anything in response. "Maybe I should have gone with them to Australia. It was my responsibility to protect them…"

Ron laughed. "Nah, Hermione. You couldn't have done that. You needed to be on the front lines. You couldn't have sat back and watched it all happen."

She sighed, knowing he was right. "I love them so much."

"Just think, in a few days time you can tell them yourself."

"That's if everything goes exactly right, Ron. _If_ we catch all of our portkeys, and _if_ we can find them in Australia and they haven't gone off to another part of the world, and _if_ I can reverse the spell, and _if_ they can find it in their hearts to forgive me, then maybe I can tell them that in a few days time."

"You will," Ron said with apparent certainty. She wondered how much he truly believed it and how much of this was him trying to put on a brave front for her. "Honestly, I'm most worried about what they'll think of me."

"They'll love you, Ron!" She exclaimed. She was momentarily taken aback by the fact that Ron and her parents had never met. It was strange how she knew and loved his whole family, and yet he had never met her's. "I've already told them so much about you," she admitted.

"Yeah? That might not bode too well for me, then," Ron joked.

"Oh hush; nothing too horrible. Well, Mum does know a bit more. I um, I might have told her about a little crush I had on you. Admittedly, I think she had figured it out already by the time I told her. I wrote about you quite a lot in my letters."

"Oh really? What did these letters say?"

"They were mostly about this insufferable red headed boy who would never let me win a row and copied all of my assignments."

"Fuck, that doesn't help me much, Hermione."

"I'm only joking, love. I always told her about how amazing you are; how wonderful your entire family is. I think she knew I was in love with you before I did."

"Smart lady; must be where you get it from."

She nodded. "Mum is amazing. She's so smart, Ron. And supportive. I remember when Dad was uneasy about them quitting their jobs to start their own practice she was the one who convinced him they could do it. When I got my Hogwarts letter-well, at first she thought it was just junk mail- but once Dumbledore came to our house and explained everything, she was so supportive of me going. I was afraid at first; of leaving my parents. I...I had a hard time making friends at the muggle school I attended. My parents were my only real companions; I didn't want to leave them."

"I couldn't wait to get out of the house and go to Hogwarts," Ron interjected wistfully. "Hell, with the stories my brothers had told me about that place you would think it was… a different world, or something."

"It really is though, isn't it?" She remarked. "It was to me. At least you had stories… I couldn't have fathomed what I was walking into."

"I never thought much about you being muggleborn. Must have been a bit of a shock…"

"It was. But in a way, when I got to Hogwarts...it was like everything finally made sense. I had been so confused for so long… I thought that I was a freak because I had never met another child like me."

"Then I had to go and make you feel worse…" Ron sighed.

"We were only eleven, Ron."

"Damn, we were, weren't we? I can't believe we made it to eighteen."

Hermione squeezed his hand in the dark. "I know. Do you...find it overwhelming? All of this extra time?" She wanted to talk to Ron about her uneasiness over the future.

"Sometimes," Ron said, and she saw him shrug his shoulders in the dimly lit room.

"How so?" She asked.

"I think about all of the time I'll have to live without Fred. Didn't think I would have to last so long without one of my siblings," Ron answered with a sniff.

"Oh, Ron. I'm so sorry."

"It's okay. I don't really want to talk about it," Ron said dismissively

Hermione paused, not knowing how to proceed. She knew that Ron did not care for talking about his feelings, but she wanted him to be able to talk to her about these kind of things. "I'll tell you about something that worries me," she said.

"What?" Ron asked, turning to her with concern.

"I'm worried about myself. I'm worried that I won't be able to live up to what everyone says about me. I'm worried I won't be able to keep it all together," she admitted.

"What do you mean? You've more than proved yourself, Hermione. You helped take down the darkest wizard of all time. Probably helped more than Harry did, if I'm being honest. Don't tell him I said that," he added.

She smiled. "I won't, because I don't agree with you. But seriously, Ron… I thought I would be dead right now. All of the sudden, I have so much more time to live up to being the brightest witch of my age. Isn't that what people say about me? Now I feel like I'll have to...I don't know... become the youngest Minister of Magic or something just as absurd to keep proving myself. And what about other things that come later in life? What if I'm not a good wife? What if I'm not a good mother?" She stopped herself, realizing with a blush that she had begun to ramble.

Ron didn't speak for a few seconds, and she thought she had scared him with the wife and mother talk. However, when he finally spoke he sounded calm. "Hermione, how can you even think those things? You're the kindest and most loving woman I've ever met. And you don't have to become Minister of Magic if you don't want to."

"I know, Ron. But this second chance at life has made me think about a lot of things…"

"I understand, love."

"So what you were saying earlier, about Fred…?" She prodded, seeing an opportunity to ask him about how he was feeling again.

Ron sighed. "I'm not looking forward to living with this guilt for the rest of my life."

Immediately, she rolled to snuggle close to him. "It's not your fault," she said gently.

"It is," Ron replied matter of factly.

"I'm going to spend as long as it takes trying to convince you that it's not," she said with determination.

"You're going to be trying for forever, Hermione."

"Then I'll spend forever trying," she said with a shrug.

"Look, it's simple facts. I didn't stick to the plan we had. When I left, I compromised the mission. Things would have played out differently if I did my part. That had to be the reason why this happened."

"Ron...I think that sometimes...things just don't make sense. Sometimes...bad things happen, and there's no reason why." For so long, she had always needed a reason; a plausible explanation for everything. Maybe it was possible that sometimes random tragedy occurred in this world.

"No," Ron replied, shaking his head. "No, Hermione. At least if I believe it was my fault... there's a reason for why he died."

"But don't you see, Ron? He died for the cause; to make this world a better place. He died fighting for what he believed in. That's the reason. I think he would agree with me. You're always telling me how smart I am… believe me when I tell you it's not your fault." She was trying anything at this point to get Ron to see her view. She knew what it felt like to live with guilt over feeling like you hurt someone you loved; she felt it everyday due to what she had done to her parents. Ron didn't need to feel that on top of his grief.

"I hope he doesn't regret it, Hermione. I hope to Merlin he's alright, where ever he is," Ron said somberly.

"He is," she replied. Ron nodded against her head and sniffed. She suspected that he was crying, but didn't want to look into his eyes and make him even more uncomfortable.

"Don't reckon I would be his first pick for a replacement at the shop," Ron said with a chuckle.

"I think you'll do just fine," she said, getting a sinking feeling in her stomach as she remembered their conversation from earlier. "Maybe I'll join you. I doubt my parents will let be go back to Hogwarts once I've told them the truth." She was only partly joking. Part of her longed to stay with Ron.

Ron shook his head. "No, Hermione. You need to go back. If your parents don't want you to, well, at the risk of sounding disrespectful who bloody cares? You're of age, even in the muggle world now, right?" She smiled and nodded, remembering a conversation she had with him a few summers ago at Grimmauld Place when she had been trying to explain muggle laws to him. "Then do what you want."

"But Ron, what if what I want is to stay with you?" She asked quietly.

"Then you're not as smart as I give you credit for," Ron joked, giving a curl that had come loose from her ponytail a tug.

She only kissed him chastely on the cheek, snuggling back into his chest and effectively ending the conversation.

* * *

 _Author's note: I just love their late night conversations, don't you? I feel like it's important for them to talk more openly about their most private thoughts and fears with each other, now that they are a couple. Also, I think that it's important to keep bringing up these big issues that they are having. I mean, you don't just get over feelings like grief or guilt after one conversation._


	38. Chapter 38

Hermione awoke at the crack of dawn, but had no intention of risking another nightmare by falling back asleep. Her eyes roamed around the stuffy attic room, and came to rest on Ron. His face was mesmerizing to watch in sleep. She felt a stab of jealousy and gratefulness all at once; both due to the fact that Ron was afforded a peaceful sleep every night. She stifled a giggled when glancing at his lower half; he seemed to be having a very pleasant dream.

"Shh. It's too early to be awake, Hermione," Ron said suddenly. Hermione didn't realize she had woken him. He turned her easily, cuddling up behind her and snaking his hand around to grasp one of her breasts, while pressing his hardness against her bottom. He then kissed her on the back of the neck and settled against his pillow, with the obvious intention of going back to sleep. She couldn't help but laugh. Even in a groggy haze, Ron had managed to find her breasts and bottom.

"What's so funny," he mumbled.

"I'm getting up to help your mother, Ron, so I'm afraid I can't stay here and allow you to grope me for much longer."

She felt him shrug against her back. "I warned you about your tits, Hermione."

She blushed. "What about my _breasts_ , exactly?"

"They're brilliant, remember? So is your arse."

She rolled her eyes at his not so eloquent phrasing, and at the fact that he seemed to be so enamored with parts of her body she had never found to be particularly exceptional.

"I can feel your heart…" Ron murmured, pressing his hand more firmly against her breast. "It's strong."

"So is yours," she replied.

"How do you know?" Ron asked, sounding quizzical.

"I listen to it when I lay on your chest. It's the most calming sound in the world…"

"Really? That's what you've been doing? I just figured you liked that spot for some reason."

"I do like it for a reason. It's my favorite sound. Here, listen," she said, turning onto her back and pulling Ron down to her chest, pressing his ear against her left breast.

He frowned for a second, seemingly unable to hear anything. But suddenly, his face lit up into a smile. "Brilliant," he said. She responded by stroking his hair gently.

"You slept okay for the rest of the night, right?" Ron asked, rubbing his hand up and down her arm in a comforting manner.

"I think so," she replied, not remembering her dreams after she had gone back to sleep.

Ron looked up to peer into her eyes, but she saw his own eyes stop their ascent. He scowled suddenly, reaching up the hand that had been rubbing her arm. She thought he was going to caress her face, but his hand went for her throat, lightly brushing his fingers over the perfectly straight scar that resided there.

Unexpectedly, she flinched, and all of the sudden the weight on top of her was too similar to the feeling of Bellatrix pinning her to the floor. The scar burned where it had been touched, reminding her of the daggar and how she had gotten the scar in the first place.

"Get up! Get off of me!" She shrieked.

Ron's face changed immediately from a troubled frown to shock. "What?" He asked, looking hurt.

"Get off! LET ME GO!" She began to struggle, kicking her legs and pushing Ron's chest as hard as she could.

"Woah, Hermione, calm down! It's just me!" He exclaimed, grabbing her arms and pinning her to the bed, trying to calm her.

This only served to induce more panic. She began to cry; feeling helpless. "Please let me go," she whimpered, tears streaming down her face. Ron immediately released her and backed away, unable to hide the shock on his face.

She was sobbing now, and she put her face into a pillow to drown herself out. She felt disoriented; out of touch with reality. Her senses were beginning to come back; it was as though the last ten seconds had been a blur. She realized what she had done to Ron and slowly lifted her head from the pillow, only to see the look of shock still frozen on his face, now mixed with guilt and sadness.

"Hermione...love…" he said quietly, at a loss for words.

"Ron, I'm so sorry. I don't know what came over me," she choked out. It wasn't a lie.

"No, I'm sorry. Did I hurt you?

"No. Well, yes, but-"

"Fucking hell. I'm so sorry, Hermione."

"That's not why, Ron. I don't know what happened. You on top of me… touching me there...it was too much like...but then again you've been on top of me before…" she muttered, trying to deduce what had just occurred.

Ron looked as though he was becoming more and more anguished by the second. "I shouldn't have touched it without asking you. It's just that I had never seen it before; not really. I mean, I knew it was there, but you're so much shorter than me that I couldn't ever see it…" He trailed off.

She had never seen it, either. She knew it was there; could feel it sting slightly every time she coughed or laughed too loudly. However, it was hidden away at the very top of her neck, and could only be seen if she craned her head back in the same position Bellatrix had held her head. So, she ignored the scar to the best of her ability.

"It's okay. You didn't know. I didn't even know," she answered. What was coming over her? Instead of recovering, it seemed as though each day brought a new layer to her post traumatic stress.

"Fuck. FUCK!" Ron screamed suddenly, punching the mattress. "I can't take this anymore, Hermione. Do you have any idea how much I love you?"

Hermione stared at him, trying to process what he had just said and how all of it was supposed to fit together coherently. "I can't control it, Ron," she said, thinking that he was fed up with her episodes.

"I know! And that's the worst fucking part! I'm sorry, love. I'm not mad at you," he seemed to rethink his words. "Actually, I am. You keep insisting you're fine, but I know you're not. And you know you're not. If this is your idea of coping-"

"I'm sorry my torment is such a chore for you to deal with," she sniffed. She knew she was being unfair; he obviously didn't mean it that way.

"It's not! I'd gladly take all the pain you'll ever feel if I could! You don't deserve this, Hermione! You're… an angel to me." She was taken aback by his words. He had never called her that before. He must have seen the surprised look on her face, because he pressed on. "Every time I look at you...it's like… you're so beautiful and good. Even right now, the way the sunlight is streaming down on you...the way your hair is framing your pretty face…"

"Ron…" She trailed off, not knowing what else to say. Instead, she leaned in and kissed him gently on the lips.

Ron allowed it, but didn't try to deepen the kiss like he usually did. "Hermione-" he began, but was cut off by a sharp knock on the door.

"You two awake?" It was Harry's voice on the other side of the door.

"Fuck off, Harry!" Ron shouted.

"He can't hear you, Ron," Hermione reminded him.

"We're coming in in ten seconds." It was Ginny. She didn't sound happy. "It's important."

"I can tell them to bugger off if you're not okay," Ron said.

She shook her head quickly. "No. If it's really important let them in."

"Alright, but we're talking about this later," Ron asserted. She only nodded.

The door flung open and Harry and Ginny walked in, both looking uneasy. Harry locked the door and re-silenced the room. Hermione turned to look at Ginny, who was now furiously pacing up and down the floor.

"Gin, what's wrong?" Ron asked, standing up and walking toward Ginny.

"I can't believe I thought he was getting better…" Ginny mumbled to herself, still pacing.

"Does someone want to tell me what the bloody fuck is going on?" Ron asked.

Harry stepped forward. "Look, I'm just going to tell you the facts because we don't have much time before more people start waking up. George is drunk. Pissed out of his fucking mind, actually. He obviously can't apparate and I don't trust myself to side-along him in this state."

Hermione frowned, sad that George was regressing. Come to think of it, wasn't she doing the same thing? "Why do you have to move him? Can't we just let him sleep it off?" She asked.

Harry winced. "He's not being particularly...nice. I think we should bring him back to his flat; let him tear the place up if he wants to. Mrs. Weasley will be too upset if she sees him in this state… Ginny and I were going to do it, but he made too much noise and struggled when we tried levitating him and we couldn't pick him up together. " Harry looked to Ron, obviously giving him the final say in the matter.

Ron merely nodded. "We'll bring him to the flat."

Harry nodded back and turned, already on the mission. Ron followed, his long strides allowing him to quickly exit the room. Hermione and Ginny glanced at each other, then followed their boyfriends.

By the time they caught up, Ron and Harry were outside George's bedroom door, heads leaning together and whispering back and forth to each other. Upon approaching them, Hermione realized they were working out a strategy.

Ron turned to Hermione and Ginny. "Look, why don't you two go downstairs? You don't need to see this. It's more of a two man job, anyway."

Ginny stomped her foot. "Like hell we will! We want to help if we can! And were you even listening? I've already seen him." Ginny whispered harshly.

Ron glanced at Hermione, but she only nodded in agreement with Ginny. He sighed and nodded. "Okay, fine. Me and Harry are going to carry him to the fireplace. If he makes any noise in the hall, one of you hit him with a mute jinx."

He slowly creaked the door open, and held it for her and Ginny, allowing Harry to bring up the rear. At first, Hermione could not see very well; her eyes darted around, trying to adjust to the darkness of the room. She began to make out faint shapes, but when Harry shut the door it became pitch black.

"Gin, open the blinds," Ron said to Ginny, who was closest to the window. Ginny muttered _lumos_ under her breath and her wand lit up, and even under the faint glow Hermione could see firewhiskey bottles scattered about the floor. Abruptly, the room was showered with sunlight, and everything came into focus.

"Bloody hell," she heard Ginny whisper.

Hermione could only nod her head in agreement. George's room looked as though a tornado had swept through it. She counted at least ten more bottles of firewhiskey she hadn't seen before. The mirror was completely shattered; bits of glass scattered the floor around it. It seemed as though what little food George had eaten, he had not taken the dirty dishes to the sink, as plates and bowls sat on random pieces of furniture. There was a hole in the wall; it looked very similar to the hole George had punched in his flat. The only thing that was not unkempt and remained in pristine condition, Hermione realized, was one of the matching beds. She realized with a sinking heart that it must have been Fred's old bed.

Finally, her eyes found George. He was huddled in the corner, laying on his side. Her eyes darted to his hand and sure enough it was bruised and swollen, and shards of glass were embedded in it.

"Fucking hellllllll," George moaned, covering his eyes with his swollen hand, and grimacing from the pain. Ron nodded to Harry, and together they started to advance toward George.

"George? It's Ron and Harry, mate. We're going to take you back to your flat," Ron said.

"Fuck off," George muttered.

Ron and Harry didn't listen, and continued walking. Ron got to him first and reached down to help George up, and to her surprise George flailed out and kicked Ron; hard. Ron yelped in surprise and clutched his shin. Her first instinct was to rush forward to help him, but he turned to her and Ginny and shook his head.

"George, we don't want to put a full body-bind curse on you, but we will," Ron said.

"Who? You and Harry? Fuck you, Rooon. Aaand double fuck you, Harry."

Ron looked confused. "Oi, George, what's wrong with you? Harry's just trying to help." George merely scoffed. Ron turned to Harry and nodded, and together they hoisted George up from under his arms, and began to drag him toward the door. He struggled against them for a second, then passed out. Ron and Harry groaned with the effort of pulling dead weight, but nevertheless continued to the door.

Hermione rushed toward them then. "Ron, I have to mend his hand! I think he could also have alcohol poisoning…" George began to stir again. Hermione backed up, wanting to have a good shot at him if he went too crazy and she was forced to stun him.

George flung his arm out, unfortunately striking Harry directly in the face and knocking his glasses off the bridge of his nose. When they hit the floor she saw that one of the lenses had shattered.

"Shit," Harry muttered.

"I can fix it Harry!" Hermione shouted, desperate to be of some help. Harry smiled in relief and held his glasses up for her, and she mended them with a quick _Oculus Reparo_.

George glanced at Harry, then at Ron, smiling snidely. He looked as though he were possessed. She had never seen George like this, and quite honestly it frightened her. He made a grab for Harry's glasses and Harry ducked, just dodging George's hand.

"Lay off Harry, George," Ron said, as the two boys continued to half walk and half drag him.

"Why? Heee's fucking my sisssster; reckon I caaaaan rough him up," George slurred. Hermione gasped, and covered her mouth with her hand. Even for George, that was crude.

Ron looked at a loss, but then suddenly turned on George, kicking him. "Oi! George! The girls are in here, you tosser! Apologize for what you just said!" Apparently he had decided to take his anger out on George. George became conscious again and kicked Ron back with all his strength.

"Alright, I'm done. Somebody stun him. He's as good as stupefied anyway," Ron said.

"I've got it," Harry replied, and looked all too happy to stun George.

After George had been stunned, Ron and Harry gave up and allowed Hermione to levitate him to the fireplace. She insisted she be the one to do it, because even after everything he had done she did not want him to get even more injured than he already was. She placed George gently on the sofa in his sitting room, and mended his hand to the best of her ability. When all seemed to be in order, Ginny abruptly grabbed Harry's hand and flooed them back to the burrow.

"Ron? Don't you think someone should stay with him?" She asked, feeling terrible for George. In a way, she knew what it was like to relapse into something horrible.

Ron scoffed. "I think we've done enough, Hermione. He'll wake up in a few minutes and tear this place apart, too. I'll come back in a few hours when he's calmed down."

"Well, maybe I'll stay with him," she countered.

Ron immediately shook his head. "No way. You're not staying here alone with him."

"I can take care of myself, Ron," she replied.

Ron's features softened. "I know you can. But I'm not leaving you here alone with my lunatic alcoholic brother."

"Do you promise we'll come back later today?" She asked, glancing at George with worry.

"Yeah, but let's get out of here for now."

She reluctantly agreed, allowing Ron to grab her hand with one hand and a pinch of floo powder in another. "THE BURROW!" he shouted. She looked over at George to see if he would react to the noise. He didn't even budge.

The two of them walked out of the burrow's fireplace as gracefully as possible to be greeted by the sound of Mrs. Weasley bustling around in the kitchen. Hermione let out a sigh of relief; they had been just in time. She was about to turn into the kitchen to offer Mrs. Weasley her help, when Ron squeezed her hand and pulled her back.

"Come back to my room with me, please?" He asked. She knew he wanted to inquire more about the incident this morning. She was tempted to say no; to make up some excuse about a promise she had made to Mrs. Weasley. However, she was sick of hiding things from Ron. She was exhausted from keeping even the small details from him.

She nodded, allowing Ron to lead her back to his bedroom. He locked the door and silenced it, then merely sat down on his bed next to her. She expected him to start speaking, but when he didn't she realized he was waiting for her to talk first.

"I'm not okay," she admitted. Merlin, it felt strange to finally say it out loud. Why had she waited so long to say it to him? He had seen her at her worst; he had obviously known.

"I know," Ron replied, reaching for her and pulling her into a hug.

"Merlin, Ron," she sobbed against his chest. "How did this happen?"

He didn't respond; only rubbed her back in comfort. In a way, it was fitting. There really was no right answer.

"The way I see it, there's nothing we can't get through, Hermione."

"But this is my own battle, Ron," she argued.

"Your battles are my battles," Ron said with a shrug, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

She stared at him, touched. He saw her expression, and his features softened. "Hermione," he started, then cleared his throat. "You're like...this light in my life when everything else is so dark. You're this beautiful and kind thing that for some reason my dumb arse gets to be with. I would do anything for you. I would die for you." She cringed and jumped at his last sentence, but he saw her reaction and pressed on. "I would. I know you don't like it, but it's just a fact."

"Ron… I'm afraid of being a burden on you. What if I never overcome this?"

Ron shrugged. "Then we'll deal with it. Together. But don't sell yourself so short, Hermione. I think you will."

"How do you have so much faith in my ability to fight this? Can you not see that this is different from every other evil I've ever fought?" Her own personal demons were proving to be her greatest enemy.

"Because, I've been having some mental shite going on in my mind too, and even though I don't think I'll ever get over it, you say you know I can. Well, I know you can, ya know?" Ron asked, trying to get her to understand his logic. She nodded slowly, not having thought about things that way.

"I'm sorry, Ron; about this morning. I don't know what came over me. I don't want you to feel as though I don't want you to touch me. Because I do. I _really_ do."

"Sorted," Ron said with a grin. Then, he flopped against the bed and sighed. "Just think, the day after tomorrow we'll get to leave this mad house."

"Yes, we will," she replied, for the first time having some confidence in her ability to make the Australia mission a success. After all, she would have Ron by her side.

* * *

 _Author's note: I love seeing Hermione through Ron's eyes. I love it when a man truly loves a woman, and thinks that she is an angel sent to earth just for him (big surprise, I'm a hopless romantic). George breaks my heart, but I just keep feeling a need to write him tormented and broken. It's like half of him is gone._


	39. Chapter 39

_Author's note: Hey guys! I know it's been a while. I've been on holiday, then had work things to do. Blah blah blah you know how it is. Anyway, thanks for the continued support! I was originally going to break this up into two chapters, but decided to put it together to give you a bit more because you've been waiting for a while. Also, a special shout out to JeanAndBilius and Steven Weasley, who seem to be the newest recruits to my gang of awesome reviewers!_

* * *

"I'm going to get up, Hermione. I can still catch Dad before he leaves for work. I want to see if he's alright. You stay here and relax," Ron told her after they had been laying on his bed in silence for a while.

"No, I'm going to see if your mother still needs help with breakfast," Hermione said, jumping up. She wouldn't mind doing some mundane housework to distract herself from her worries.

"Okay," Ron agreed, holding his hand, clearly implying he wanted her to help him up. She gave him a disbelieving smirk, but nevertheless locked her small hand with his much larger one and tugged. He didn't budge. She pulled with all her might, but Ron only rose half way off of the mattress before he flopped back down again. He grinned at her.

"Stop being difficult, Ronald Weasley," she demanded, putting her hands on her hips.

"But it's so cute when you get cross with me and your brow wrinkles into that adorable little line," he replied. She immediately slapped her hand over her forehead. Ron grinned again, this time emerging from the bed all on his own. He grabbed her hand again and together they headed toward the door.

They walked down the winding staircase, and Ron started to speak again, in a more guarded tone. "Hermione... you don't think...about what George said…"

She winced, knowing what Ron was asking, but tried to stall for time. "I don't think he meant to insult you, Ron. He was highly intoxicated and extremely distressed."

Ron shook his head as they continued to walk. "No, about...Harry and Ginny. I mean, that has to have been the firewhiskey talking, right? They're not really…"

"I don't think it's any of our business, Ron," she said, avoiding his eyes.

"Bloody hell," Ron mumbled, his eyes widening in realization. As bad luck would have it, they now stood directly outside of Ginny's room, and Ron quickly took a step toward her door, as if to blast Harry and Ginny out of the room and confront them. .

However, Hermione was ready for him, and faster, after the incident that had occured last summer when Ron had purposefully walked in on them. Her wand already in hand, she harshly whispered _Protego_ and casted a shield charm in front of him, effectively making him bounce backward when he hit it.

"What the hell, Hermione?" Ron asked, his face red.

"I stopped you from doing something stupid, Ron. That's what."

"No. No way. Step aside, Hermione. I'm going in there to kick Harry's arse."

"No, you're not," she said evenly.

"Yes, I am. Now move out of the way, or I'll move you myself."

"No, you won't," she replied, crossing her arms and staring up at him. She knew that even though Ron could easily pick her up and move her, he would never do anything without her consent.

He sighed. "Please move?"

"No."

He stared at her for another few seconds, then sighed in defeat, looking away. She sighed as well. "Come here," she said, taking his hand and leading him into the broom cupboard at the end of the hallway. She pushed him inside and shut the door behind them.

"Did you know about this?" Ron asked her immediately.

"You're very handsome," she replied, trying to dodge the question.

It almost worked. Ron beamed at her compliment, but quickly shook his head. "Did you know about this?" He asked again, more forcefully.

"Well, yes, Ron…"

"And you didn't do anything!?"

"What would you like me to have done, Ron? Owled the Aurors because Ginny and Harry-"

"Don't say it!" Ron shouted, cutting her off and slapping his hands over his ears.

"Fine! But I won't allow you to start a fight with Harry. Did you even think about your poor mother and her nerves!? The last thing she needs is a fist fight breaking out in the house first thing in the morning! You're over reacting!"

Ron looked about ready to start a full blown row with her. "Hermione! That happens to be my baby sister!"

"She's not a baby anymore, Ron."

She saw his eyes glance around the dimly lit cupboard madly, as if trying to find a logical argument to her assertion in the cracks of the crumbling walls. "She's not of age!" Ron burst out, grinning in triumph.

"You know the trace has nothing to do with sexual consent, Ron. Haven't I explained this to you? You see, it all dates back to-"

"I don't need a bloody lesson right now, Hermione!" He threw his hands up in the air and reached for the doorknob, slamming the door open and muttering something about de-gnoming the garden. She watched him walk away, still muttering and shaking his head.

Deciding to give him some time to cool off, she found Mrs. Weasley in the kitchen, just putting the finishing touches on breakfast. The older woman turned to Hermione as she entered, and smiled. "Good morning, Hermione. Is Ginny awake yet, dear?"

"Oh, yes, I think she'll be down soon," Hermione answered, feeling guilty that Mrs. Weasley believed her to be sleeping in Ginny's room every night. "Do you need help with anything?"

"If you don't mind, will you put the coffee on?"

"Of course," she replied, performing the spell that made the coffee beans begin to grind themselves.

Fleur walked into the kitchen then, and Mrs. Weasley smiled at her. "Fleur, darling, feeling alright this morning?"

Fleur smiled back, her teeth shining and her hair glowing in an impossibly beautiful aura. "Yes, Maman. Zank you."

Mrs. Weasley frowned slightly. "Are you sure, dear? No… nausea? I do have remedies for it, if you need some."

"Yes, I am well. But zank you," Fleur replied, walking over to Hermione. Mrs. Weasley shrugged wearily and went back to monitoring the sausages.

Hermione raised her eyebrows at Fleur as she approached. "Why would you be nauseas? Oh! Are you pregnant!?" Hermione whispered excitedly.

Fleur smiled and whispered back. "No, Maman only wishes. Only, I zink she may get 'er wish sooner zan later. At least, I 'ope." Fleur glanced at Mrs. Weasley, who was now paying them no attention. "Do not tell anyone, but William and I 'ave decided to start trying to 'ave a baby."

Hermione beamed at Fleur and couldn't stop herself from jumping up and down in excitement. "Oh, Fleur! How wonderful!" Mrs. Weasley glanced at the two of them suspiciously, so Hermione nodded her head toward the sitting room, indicating for Fleur to follow her.

Together, they sat down on the sofa, and Hermione could not resist grasping Fleur's hand with her own. "How exciting, Fleur!" Hermione exclaimed, feeling practically giddy. Suddenly, a baby seemed to be just the thing that the Weasley family needed right now.

Fleur squeezed Hermione's hand in response. "I do not want to be too excited just yet, 'ermione." Then, she glanced around the room, and seemed unable to stop herself from beaming. "It is exciting though, no? To zink, a leetle baby zat will be part William and part me. Somezing all our own. Somezing so beautiful when I zought zat we may never get zee chance…"

Hermione smiled back at her. "I know just what you mean, Fleur."

A tear began to drip from Fleur's eye and she quickly brushed it away; she was breathtaking even when crying. "Finally some 'appy tears, yes?" Fleur joked.

"Yes," Hermione agreed. She paused, realizing that it was starting to happen; people were starting to move on. Bill and Fleur were allowing themselves to be happy again. They were going to create a person in a world without Fred in it. A little niece or nephew that he would never know and who in return would never know him. It dawned on her that being happy in a world without Fred, or Remus, or Tonks… was unavoidable. They would always be gone, no matter what anyone felt. To allow oneself to be happy meant to be happy in a world without them, but maybe it was possible. Maybe it was what they would have wanted.

Mrs. Weasley called everyone for breakfast, but when Hermione glanced out the window she did not see Ron turn to come inside. In fact, he was throwing gnomes over the garden wall as if his life depended on it, and he did not seem to be in a hurry to stop any time soon. She hesitantly walked into the kitchen, knowing that very quickly someone would notice Ron was not present.

Sure enough, Ginny spoke up. "Where's Ron?" She asked, looking at Hermione.

"Um... I don't know if he's coming…" Hermione replied.

Everyone froze and looked at her in confusion, apparently flabbergasted that Ron would voluntarily miss a meal.

"Oh my, is he ill? Harry, was he ill when you two woke up this morning?" Mrs. Weasley asked, turning to Harry for an answer.

Harry looked a bit shifty as he replied. "Um, no. He was fine…" He obviously had trouble with lying to Mrs. Weasley as well.

"I think he's a bit upset...about...things in general. I can take something to him," Hermione offered, both saving Harry and covering for Ron.

Mrs. Weasley looked unsure, then nodded. "Well, alright. Tell him if he needs me to just call," she said, looking forlorn. Hermione smiled and nodded, feeling slightly guilty. Mrs. Weasley obviously loved being her children's caretaker, but Hermione herself had been the one mostly helping Ron these past few weeks.

Hermione took the tray from Mrs. Weasley the muggle way; without levitating it. It was just an old reflex on her part, but she could tell that Mrs. Weasley looked confused for half a second before nodding and going back to her cooking. That happened a lot at the burrow during the summers she had spent here; she did something the muggle way and one of the Weasley's would look extremely confused. It used to make her feel slightly left out and more than a little incompetent when it came to wizarding culture, but now it just made her smirk.

She walked out the back door holding the tray of food and approached Ron, who was so engrossed in what he was doing that he did not notice her. Or at least, she thought he didn't. With his back turned to her and still throwing gnomes, he said, "What, Hermione?"

She should have known he would be able to sense her coming, what with the year they had experienced. "I brought you some food," she said cheerfully.

He stopped and turned to face her. "I'm not hungry."

"Rubbish! You're always hungry! Now, come and eat this before the gnomes attack me." The gnomes had evidently smelled the food, and even the ones who had been hiding began to poke their heads out of holes and around bushes.

"You bloody wankers better not touch her!" Ron shouted. The gnomes scurried away, obviously frightened by Ron.

He sat down on the grass next to her, and grabbed the plate Mrs. Weasley had made for him. She picked up her own helping, and they sat there in silence for a few minutes. It was nice; with the sun shining down on them and a soft breeze blowing.

"I'm not just upset about the, er, incident that happened upstairs. I guess it was just the final straw, ya know?"

She turned to face him. "I know."

"I mean, don't get me wrong, that was pretty horrifying news, but I reckon we have bigger problems to worry about."

"We do," she agreed.

"Like George," he mused.

"Yes."

"And your parents."

"Yeah," she said quietly.

"And I can't help you if I'm being a big brooding mess."

"Ron, you're allowed to get upset every now and again. I know you don't like it, but you have emotions, and sometimes they're unpleasant, and that's okay. You've helped me so much these past few weeks. More than you know, probably."

He grabbed her hand. "I couldn't have survived this long without you, Hermione."

"I feel the same," she replied, smiling at him. "You make me so happy, Ron."

He beamed, as if this was his greatest achievement to date. "That's all I want to do, you know; make you happy."

"So far you're doing pretty well," she said.

"Pretty well? So what else can I do to make it better?"

She laughed. "Nothing, Ron. But I promise that if I think of something I'll let you know."

He nodded, apparently satisfied. "So, about George… reckon we should check on him soon? It's been a few hours…"

"Of course! I would have gone back even sooner than this! I'm worried about him, Ron. I wish I knew how to better comfort him…"

"That's why I love you, Hermione. You always want to help everyone," Ron said as he stood and hoisted her up."Let's disapparate up to my room real quick; I want you to grab your bag."

"Why?" She asked, confused.

"We might need to confiscate some things."

"Alright…" she agreed. She held onto him, and he side-alonged her to his room, where she grabbed her beaded bag from where it sat on Ron's desk. He held her hand and disapparated them again, right onto the back porch steps.

Together, they walked through the back door and quietly tiptoed to the fireplace, not wanting anyone to see them depart for George's flat and ask them where they were going. Ron spoke the words "Weasleys' Wizarding Wheezes" in a low voice, and she was half afraid that they would pop out of a random chimney in Diagon Alley. However, they ended up at George's flat, safe and sound.

George lay on the sofa exactly where they had left him. At first, Hermione thought him to be asleep, but upon further inspection she realized he was awake and staring up at the ceiling in silence. She moved to walk toward him, but Ron put his hand on her shoulder and gave her an uneasy look. She merely shook him off, unable to resist attempting to comfort George.

"George?" She asked tentatively, walking toward him slowly.

George started, and rounded on the two of them. Ron instantly grabbed her and pushed her behind him, as if expecting George to attack them. However, George merely laughed and turned onto his back again, resuming his staring.

"George, mate, how are you doing?" Ron asked with a wince. She could tell that he felt ridiculous asking the question; obviously George was not doing well.

"Piss off, Ron. Go shag Granger or something," George replied without giving them a glance.

Ron's face turned red with anger. "Don't make me hit you again, George. You better apologize to Hermione right now."

"No, Ron! It's fine. Let me help you, George," she said to George, gesturing toward his hand that was still swollen.

George merely shrugged, so she took it as a sign that he was accepting her help. She picked his hand up gently and even though he tried to hide it, she saw him wince in pain. "I think it might be sprained. Would you like me to wrap it for you? I read up on a lot of medical techniques before we left last year."

"Of course you did," George muttered. However, he didn't yank his hand away, so she reached for her beaded bag and pulled out the first aid kit she had stashed away last summer.

After a few minutes of her working on him, George spoke up. "I reckon Ron's right, Hermione. I do owe you an apology. I'm sorry for how I was this morning. I'm not so sorry for the jokes about you two shagging, because Merlin that shite is just too hilarious."

She only rolled her eyes at him as she continued to wrap his hand. "I wouldn't expect anything less from you, George."

Ron was pacing around the room, looking agitated. "I'm taking all of your firewhiskey George," he said, gathering all of the full bottles and placing them into her beaded bag.

"Go ahead. The Leaky never runs out of 'em."

"You're an alcoholic, you know that right?" Ron sighed, still finding random bottles around the room.

George shrugged. "I play a little game with myself called 'every time I want to kill myself, take a drink'. Turns out it adds up."

"Would you like to come back with us, George? Your mother is cooking a wonderful breakfast," Hermione offered, trying to ignore his morose talk and stay positive.

"Nah, I think I'll just stay here. Tell Mum everything is okay though, alright?"

Hermione glanced at Ron uncertainly. She didn't want to tell Mrs. Weasley yet another lie. "Alright," Ron said. "Oh, also, George. The shop. Er, this summer. If you need help, I'd be more than willing-"

"Sold, baby bro," George cut in, saving Ron from his awkward speech. "But don't expect to make partner any time soon. You'll be starting out on minimum wages, and we'll see how you do."

"It's a deal, then," Ron said, standing up and walking over to George. The two brothers shook hands.

"Reckon I'll just sleep here. Can't really bring myself to go into our room at the moment," George said quietly, abruptly changing the topic.

"Fuck. I'm sorry George," muttered Ron.

"Yeah, I'm sorry too. Now I have to do all the work when it comes to knocking some sense into your head." George turned to Hermione and smirked. "We put in a lot of work where you were concerned, Hermione. We tried for years to get him to make a move." Hermione almost expected Fred to apparate next to George and continue to take the mickey with Ron. Whenever they started referring to each other as 'we' one could deduce the twins had done something mischievous. "We'll-I mean _I'll_ \- keep fighting the good fight for you," he said with a wink and a smile that didn't meet his eyes. She smiled and nodded, not missing that he had accidentally referred to himself and Fred together in the future. Her heart sank when she thought of the impossibility of Fred and George together in the future. They would never play quidditch together again as the best team of beaters she had ever seen. She would never fall victim to another stupid prank they had concocted together. She would never again hear the sound of them laughing together; their hearty chuckles always harmonizing together perfectly.

Hermione sadly patted George on the head when she was finished with his hand, then leaned in and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek in an attempt to comfort him. He looked so broken. "We'll come check on you tomorrow, okay?" George merely nodded. She looked at Ron, whose only response was to shrug."Alright, George. Fire-call us if you need anything."

"Yeah yeah," George muttered, waving them away, and going back to staring at the ceiling.

They flooed back to the burrow, where Hermione spent yet another afternoon doing chores for Mrs. Weasley and furiously snogging Ron whenever she got the chance. That made the hours pass quickly, and before she knew it, it was almost time for supper.

Hermione walked into Ginny's room to search for a certain book she had left in there, only to find Ginny looking very glamorous. She was wearing a long red dress that hugged her curves perfectly, and her long hair fell in waves around her face. She wore a dash of makeup and a pair of heels as well.

"What do you think? Too much?" Ginny asked Hermione, looking a bit uncertain about her ensemble.

"Ginny! You look gorgeous! Where are you going?"

She smiled. "Oh. Well, Bill and Fleur said they wanted to take me out for dinner. Something about me being his 'favorite sister'. Fleur mentioned that it's a nice place…"

"I'm sure if Fleur picked out the restaurant, then what you're wearing is perfect," Hermione said. Ginny nodded, seeming convinced.

"Holy fuck." Hermione heard a male voice mumble from the doorway. She turned around to see Harry standing there staring at Ginny and looking like he had just been clubbed over the head.

Ginny smirked at him. "Something wrong, Harry?"

Harry gulped and shook his head. "No, nothing. I, uh... wow, Ginny." Hermione could not help but smirk as well. How was it that a man could defeat the most evil wizard to ever exist, but then be completely floored and left speechless by a beautiful woman? Ginny had that effect on Harry.

"Thank you," Ginny said, walking up to him and kissing him on the cheek. "I really must be going, though. Bill and Fleur are expecting me at the cottage." Harry only nodded, and turned to follow her with his eyes as she walked away.

Hermione began to giggle, and Harry turned to her and sheepishly ran his fingers through his hair. "What?"

"You've got it bad, Harry."

"I know. But if I've got to have something bad it's a pretty great option, wouldn't you say?"

"Of course," she agreed, smiling at him. He continued to run his fingers through his fringe, looking more and more uncomfortable by the second, before she took pity on him and suggested they go down for supper. He readily agreed, and when they arrived at the table she took her usual seat next to Ron.

"Oh, where has George been all day?" Mrs. Weasley lamented as she served everyone. "He hasn't been here for one meal…"

"He went back to his flat, Mum. He's fine," Ron said as he shoveled spoonfuls of food into his mouth.

"What? Oh no, I should floo over. He has nothing to eat-"

"Mum, he said he's fine. Just wants a quiet night," Ron said.

Mrs. Weasley sighed. "Alright, if it's what he wants…" Hermione could tell that once again Mrs. Weasley was having trouble with not being able to care for her children.

After their meal, Hermione took her usual bath, then donned her pajamas and made her nightly trek to Ron's room. To her surprise, Harry was sitting on the floor with Ron, both of them engaged in a game of Exploding Snap.

Ron glanced at her. "Would you look at this, Hermione? Ginny's gone for one night and he comes crawling back to us."

Hermione smiled, relieved that Ron was getting along with Harry. He seemed to be following through on his promise to focus on more important matters.

"Oi!" Harry shouted good naturally from his perch on the floor. "Is it a crime to want to have some fun with my friends?"

"Not at all. In fact, why don't we crack open a couple of these?" Ron asked. She looked over to see him digging into her beaded bag and pulling out a few bottles of George's firewhiskey.

"Ron, I don't think-"

"Oh come on Hermione, live a little," Ron said, interrupting her.

"Yeah, Hermione. Plus, it's not like the two of us are lightweights," Harry agreed, nodding toward Ron. He must have been referring to all of the after game parties in the Gryffindor common room. "You, on the other hand, we know nothing about. You might take one sip and topple over," he said, obviously taunting her.

Ron was nodding in agreement. "Yeah, I'd love to see you good and pissed."

"Ron, isn't this the same alcohol you chastised George for consuming mere hours ago?" She asked, narrowing her eyes at him.

"Well yeah, but he's trying to drown his sorrows. We'd just be using it for a bit of fun."

"Well...if it's only for a bit of fun…" She relented, giving in.

Ron grinned, and conjured three glasses. He poured himself and Harry a full glass and gave her about half as much.

"Excuse me, where is my whole glass?" Hermione asked.

"Blimey, Ron. A few seconds ago she didn't want any, and now she wants half the bottle," Harry commented in a joking tone.

"Trust me, love. See how you handle that first," Ron said.

"Alright," she agreed, thinking that Ron had to be underestimating her and overestimating the firewhiskey. Admittedly, she did not have much experience with alcohol; the only time she had ever drank it had been a few sips of champagne at a muggle cousin's wedding and a sip of firewhiskey when they had toasted Mad-Eye last year.

"Well, bottoms up," Harry said with a grin. Together, the clinked their glasses and drank. Ron and Harry seemed unfazed, but the second the firewhiskey hit her throat it burned the whole way down. She sputtered and began to cough uncontrollably. Ron began to pound on her back, but she shook him off, insisting she was fine. Wanting to prove the boys wrong, she took another gulp, which went down more easily. The third time was even easier. Ron reached for the bottle and poured her a bit more.

Eventually, Ron's room became much blurrier than she had remembered it being, and she began to wonder why she had been so distressed recently. Her body felt light. Her brain-which usually whizzed at lightening speed and thought of about fifty different problems and possible solutions if those problems were to occur either presently or in the future- slowed down to a peaceful lull. Everything the boys were saying was hilarious. In fact, everything she was saying was hilarious. How had she never realized how funny she was?

She was now leaning against Ron in order to keep herself upright as Harry told a story about some sort of prank that had happened during a Quidditch practice. She giggled along with Ron's uproarious laughter, even though she didn't quite understand what was so funny about the twins stuffing Oliver Wood's locker with only vomit flavored Bertie Botts beans. Apparently, he had gotten sick during an after game party and they took the mickey out of him for the rest of the season for being a lightweight. Her intoxicated self found this to be worthy of dropping herself to the floor and rolling around in laughter.

"Blimey, Hermione. You're a riot when you're pissed," Ron commented.

"And you're sexy," she replied, feeling flirty. From her spot on the floor she had the perfect view of his handsome face and broad shoulders. She rolled over to him and crawled into his lap, lacing her arms around his neck. "Hey sexy," she said, pecking him on the lips.

"Hey, beautiful," he muttered, kissing her neck.

"Oi! Enough of that!" Harry slurred.

"Oh, sorry, mate. Who knew? Hermione gets randy when she's pissed!" Ron exclaimed.

Harry made a face and mimicked vomiting, so she threw a pillow at him. He caught it easily even in his drunken state. "Right, where were we? Oh, so after Wood is all covered in this shite, Fred says-" Harry stopped talking mid sentence and looked at Ron with a guilty expression.

"It's okay, mate. Reckon he would want us to be honoring him with stories about his pranks." Ron reached for a second bottle of firewhiskey and poured all of them another drink. "Here, let's have a toast. To Fred! I hope you're okay; wherever you are," He said, raising his own glass. She and Harry picked their glasses up and clinked them with Ron's.

"To Fred," she murmured in agreement.

"To Fred," Harry said quietly.

Ron nodded in approval and downed his drink. She took a small sip of her own drink, wondering if her nervous system would allow her to stand and walk at this point. She didn't much care; she quite enjoyed sitting in Ron's lap.

Harry mumbled something that she couldn't make out. "Speak up, mate," Ron shouted.

"I said, he's okay. Fred, that is. He's in a good place." Harry said in almost a whisper.

"How do you know?" Ron asked, sounding unconvinced.

"When Voldemort hit me with the killing curse, I uh, I went there. Well, not there, exactly, but there was another option to choose. To go on, that is. What I'm trying to say, is there is a path after this life. Fred would have gone on, of course."

Ron only stared at Harry, as if trying to process Harry's words in his drunken state. "Are you sure, mate?"

Harry vehemently nodded his head. "I'm positive. He's okay. Trust me."

Ron only nodded his head slowly in response. She couldn't entirely process everything that Harry had just said, or exactly how she felt about it, but Ron looked happier than she had seen him when talking about Fred than she could remember, so for the moment that was all she cared about. She nodded her approval and kissed him sloppily on the cheek. He gave her a kiss back as Harry continued on with the story, which led to a great deal more of toastings to Fred.

* * *

 _Author's note: Okay, so many things that I'm hoping I'm getting across at least half way decently. First of all, Ron's temper and his pretty recent maturity allowing him to control it better, even if he needs to sacrifce a few gnomes to realize what is important. George and his continuing depression. Also, I really liked the idea of Bill and Fleur treating Ginny to a nice night out for dinner. Seems like something a cool older brother and his awesome wife would do. It also allowed for another bonding moment for the Golden Trio. I wanted to use the alcohol as a way for Harry to talk more about his experience, because he can be really gaurded about things obviously. I mean, come on, he's Harry. Also, you have to get drunk with your friends at least once when you're a teenager, am I right?_


	40. Chapter 40

_Author's note: Hello my loves! I hope you guys enjoy this chapter, there is something really intimate about it that I love. I know this story is dragging on, but I love writing it moment by moment, and I love that you guys stick around!_

* * *

Hermione had been quietly sitting on Ron's lap for a while, phasing in and out of consciousness. At this point it had to be very late at night or very early in the morning. She had been trying to work up the stamina to attempt standing for a while, and decided to give it a go, preferring to sleep on a bed rather than the floor. She stood up and wobbled a bit, then bent over in an attempt to pick up her wand.

"Oh yeah, love. Bend over a bit more," she heard Ron say groggily from behind her. She spun around in an attempt to reprimand him and tripped, but he easily caught her in his strong arms. "Fuck yeah," he muttered, giving her bottom a squeeze.

"Ron! You're being very fresh!" She chastised.

"Sorry, love. Turn around and bend over again and I'll just look at it."

"I think you're still drunk," she said.

"I think you're fuck-hot," Ron growled, sticking his hands down her pajama bottoms and groping her bare bottom.

"Ron!" She gasped.

"Yeah?" He muttered. He was now trying to stick his head underneath her shirt. "You're so fucking soft, Hermione. How is everything about you so fucking soft?"

"I'm not exactly sure," was all she managed to say as her intoxicated brain tried to logically answer his question. Her hands grasped his broad shoulders as Ron pulled her body flush against his. She didn't know if it was the alcohol, but all of the sudden she couldn't help but marvel at the way their bodies fit perfectly together. Every part of her that was soft and curved fit against every part of him that was hard and linear. Her breasts pushed up against his chest in a way that felt natural; instinctual, even. She looked down at their intertwined hands. His large and calloused hand made her hand look even smaller and daintier. She liked it. She liked him. No, she loved him. More than she had ever loved anyone or anything.

"Hermione Granger not exactly sure about something? What is this world coming to?" Ron asked in a muffled voice as he kissed her stomach, effectively interrupting her rambling thoughts.

"Hush, you!" She shouted as she slapped his shoulder. "Make yourself useful and get me to a bed! I can't seem to walk and I would like to lay down."

"Okay," Ron said enthusiastically, seeming eager to please her. He stood up and grabbed her firmly by the shoulders, steering her toward his bed. "You really are a lightweight, Hermione."

"I'm fine, Ron," she said stubbornly.

"Oh really? So if I let go of you right now-"

"I don't think that will be necessary."

Ron only chuckled as he gently placed her on his bed. "Where the hell is Harry?" He asked suddenly, looking around the room.

"He probably went back down to Ginny's room. Everything is looking a bit blurry to me but I think your watch is reading three o'clock in the morning," Hermione commented, pointing at his wrist. "I cannot believe I let you talk me into this, Ron," she groaned.

"You're bloody adorable when you're pissed, Hermione," Ron said.

"I am not. I'm very cross right now."

"No, you're not. You love me."

"The two are not mutually exclusive," she muttered.

"How do you still manage to use big terms that I don't understand even when you're falling down drunk?" He wondered out loud as he climbed into the bed next to her.

Hermione did not respond. She only moaned again and closed her eyes, trying to stop the room from spinning.

"Love, are you okay?" Ron asked. He was now leaning over her and peering into her eyes with a concerned look on his face.

"I'm fine," she breathed quietly. The walk over to the bed had done a number on her.

He frowned. "You don't look fine. You look paler than a ghost. Stay here, I'll be right back." She resisted rolling her eyes; as if she could move at this point. He rolled off the bed and she heard his clumping footsteps walk out the door.

A minute later he was back, with a cold flannel and a glass of water. "Here you go, Hermione, try this," he said as he took the flannel and laid it gently across her forehead. "I know it helped you, before…"

She sighed and smiled. He always brought her a cold flannel to press against her forehead whenever Fleur had changed her dressings at Shell Cottage. In fact, he had brought her anything she ever wanted during those horrible days of recovery. If her stomach so much as grumbled, he would jump up to get her food. If she had to use the loo he would help her walk there and back. He hadn't left her side, even at night. He sat with her and held her hand until she fell asleep, and then he was there again in the morning when she awoke, smiling and ready to help her through another day.

He held the glass of water to her lips and cradled her head as she took a sip, then kissed her forehead. "Better?" He asked.

"Much," she responded. Her eyes fluttered open again as she remembered something. "Ron, hand me my bag."

He grabbed her beaded bag that was sitting on his bedside table and passed it to her. She rifled around inside of it, sticking her whole arm in and touching various books, clothing, and other items until her hand closed around a vial of her potion. She pulled it out of the bag and quickly uncorked it.

"What's that?" Ron asked.

"Oh…um... it's my contraceptive potion," she answered, unable to lie to him. She forced it down as quickly as possible.

Ron's eyes rounded in surprise. "What?"

"It prevents pregnancy."

Ron rolled his eyes. "I know that, Hermione."

"I'm just taking it as a precaution, Ron. Don't go getting any ideas," she said as she patted his cheek and leaned back against a pillow.

"Of course not. No ideas at all. Why didn't you tell me about it?"

"I don't know, Ronald," she sighed, wishing he would quiet down. Her head was beginning to hurt.

"Well, I know you said you were having, er, some woman problems. I just want to make sure you're okay."

She giggled, despite her throbbing headache. "That's very sweet of you, Ron."

He snuggled up next to her and wrapped an arm across her chest. "I can be very sweet when I want to be, isn't that what you said?" He muttered next to her ear.

"I might have said that," she agreed.

She was beginning to doze off to thoughts of Ron and his sweetness. He tried to keep up a tough exterior, but she saw the real him. She saw how much he cared for her, how he would do anything to make her happy...

Her dreams that night were a strange combination of angst and ecstasy, all centering around Ron. Whether she was laughing or crying, he was there. Snapshots of moments from the past year spent with him drifted in and out of her head.

* * *

 _Ron's comforting deep voice and the solace of his big strong arms as they wrapped around her and she cried on his shoulder when she arrived at the burrow after obliviating her parents. He was holding her, and rocking her, and tears were streaming down her face but she didn't care. He was there and he was comforting her and when she peered up into his eyes she didn't know whether to kiss him or cry some more, so she settled on crying, and he settled on hugging her even tighter, until she gasped and shakily suggested he let her go before she suffocated. He laughed. She laughed._

 _Ron's eyes as they sought her from across the tent during the attack at Bill and Fleur's wedding. She saw desperation in them as he moved toward her. A green light whizzed past his ear and all of the sudden she couldn't breathe; couldn't think, because he was her Ron and he had just come so close to being gone forever. Then Harry was grabbing her and Ron was grabbing her even harder and they were spinning and twisting through thin air..._

 _Ron laying in the grass covered in blood, and he was screaming in agony, and she was trying to help him but maybe she wasn't good enough. Maybe she couldn't help him and maybe she would lose him this time. She looked down at his mangled arm and saw bone and swallowed down the bile that rose to her throat, mostly because she was realizing for the first time how fragile human beings could be; even her Ron..._

 _Ron in a cot next to her as she lay in her own cot crying from the pain of starvation. She was trying to be quiet, but he heard her, and then he was beside her stroking her hair and telling her it was going to be alright. She loved him in that moment; madly, deeply. In fact, she was about to ask him to crawl into the cot with her and make love to her, because they could die tomorrow and never know what it would be like, but then Harry was there finishing his watch and the moment was gone..._

 _Ron's long strides carrying him farther and farther away from her. She was sprinting in an effort to keep up, but she couldn't; she was no match for his speed. She slipped in the mud and cut her face open on a branch. Blood streamed down her face but she didn't care; she stood up and continued to scream for him. He turned around, his face screwed up in anguish, his eyes glowing red, the rain beating down on both of them. Then he was turning on the spot and he was gone, and she was left to wonder how one person could make her feel such love and agony in the same moment..._

 _Ron back in her life just as abruptly as he had left it, and she had never known such completion._

 _And then, she was at Malfoy Manor, experiencing the worst moment of her life, and Ron was there. He was begging Bellatrix to take him instead and he was sobbing, and suddenly she knew that he loved her more than he loved himself. Then the pain came and she wanted to die and she heard him screaming her name and she didn't want to die and it was all so confusing but Ron's voice won out and she held on for one more second..._

 _Ron holding her in his arms, sprinting along the sand, her wincing in pain with every step he took. Her blood leaving a red trail behind them. Ron carrying her into a house she did not recognize and placing her in a bed she did not know. Ron refusing to leave when Fleur needed to undress her, and Bill having to drag him from the room. Of all things, she absurdly felt self conscious that the boy she loved had seen the evidence of her wetting herself. Only when the door slammed shut and Fleur tugged her blood soaked shirt over her head and gently pulled her jeans down did she finally allow herself to cry..._

 _Ron holding her hand as she suffered through the aftershocks of the Cruciatus Curse. Ron reassuring her that she could pull off the Gringotts mission when she doubted herself. His bravery when marching into battle. His insistence that she should destroy the cup because she was brilliant and amazing and she deserved it and somehow she was laughing once again at an inappropriate moment-in the middle of a battle no less- because of his goofiness._

 _Ron lips against her lips for the first time, and she couldn't help but wonder if it would be the last time as well. She was blinking the tears away as they kissed, because she had never felt so whole, and this world was much crueler than she had ever thought if she was to be afforded this euphoria only to have it snatched away..._

 _Victory, and the glorious realization that she could kiss him again. She could do more than that because now they had hours and days and weeks and years and she hoped he wanted to spend it with her because she wanted to spend it with him..._

 _Ron telling her he loved her. Kissing him, touching him, loving him back. The pain and the pleasure of the nights spent with him. Her emotions all bundled up in a confusing heap of joy and despair..._

* * *

Hermione blinked her eyes open and felt wetness against her face, then touched her cheek and realized she had been crying in her sleep; probably both happy and sad tears. Turning to look at Ron, she saw that she had not woken him; he looked to be in a deep sleep. It was still dark out, however she felt as though she had slept most of the alcohol off. Now, she was sticky with sweat and felt her body spasming painfully.

She sighed, knowing it must be aftershocks of the curse. It hadn't been this bad since Shell Cottage. Maybe she was experiencing it again because she had been dreaming about it. Fleur's remedy for her pain had always been to get her into a hot bath and allow her muscles to relax, which she decided sounded really good right about now. She shifted slightly on the bed and tried to carefully climb over Ron, who was suddenly alert.

"Hermione! What's wrong!?" He asked, sounding alarmed.

"I'm sorry, Ron. I was going to take a bath."

Ron stared at her for a second as if trying to process her words. "Are you serious? It's…" he quickly looked at his watch "...almost 5 o'clock in the morning, Hermione."

"I know… I think it might calm me down. Just let me climb over you and you can go back to sleep."

"I don't want you falling asleep in the bath, Hermione."

"I'll be fine, Ron."

"No, I'm serious. What if you fall asleep in there and have a nightmare? You could drown yourself."

She hadn't thought of that. "Oh...well... it's just that I'm a bit sore and I was having trouble falling back asleep…"

Ron's face changed into a concerned frown. "Sore?"

"I think I'm still experiencing aftershocks…"

His scowl deepened. "Then you're right. You should get into a bath; I know that helped you before. I'll come with you and keep you awake."

"By talking to me through the door? You'll wake the entire house." At Shell Cottage he had always sat against the door and talked to her in an effort to keep her company, especially when Fleur helped wash her; he knew how much it hurt to scrub her skin or even raise her arms. His voice was always a nice distraction from the pain.

"I was thinking part of the deal would be I get to come in with you," he said, raising his eyebrows at her.

She blushed. Of course he thought that. After all, he was her boyfriend now.

"Oh. Yes. That, um… that would be fine," she said replied shakily. No one in the house was awake right now. There was no way that anyone would know, right?

He grinned. "Come on, I'll help you and keep you company." She stood up and he wrapped an arm securely around her shoulders. The pain was getting worse, now. It ran down her arms and legs and caused her to walk shakily.

By the time they reached the loo, she was fighting to hold back tears. Ron closed the door, locking and silencing it. He sat her down on the floor and quickly flicked the light on, along with the water tap.

Hermione stood up on her shaking legs and attempted to strip her clothes off; her hands were now shaking terribly as well. Ron turned around to look at her, and she wondered just how upset he would be if she asked him to turn around while she undressed and got under the water. She gathered some courage and quickly pulled her shirt over her head and kicked her shorts off, then slipped into the hot water before he could run his eyes over her too many times.

Her entire body relaxed once it hit the warm water, and slowly her spasms began to ebb. Ron sat down on the floor and turned to face her, his large body leaning against the side of the tub.

"Better?" He asked.

"Much," She replied.

"What do you think brought it on? I thought it had gotten a lot better…?" Ron asked, and by the look in his eyes should could tell that he thought she might have been hiding this from him.

"It had, Ron. I promise. I think it must have had something to do with what I was dreaming about. I woke up and it was happening."

"What was it this time?" He asked.

"A lot of different things...but I remember at one point I was dreaming about the two of us at Shell Cottage."

Ron nodded, then reached into the bath and grabbed her hand, pulling it out of the water and resting their intertwined hands on the ledge. "That was both the best and worst time of my life, Hermione. On one hand I was just so happy that you had made it, but on the other hand I couldn't stand to see you in pain."

She was about to say she wished he would have told her that before; while it had all been happening. Then, she realized deep down that she had known. His begging the Death Eaters to kill him instead of her and the way he had cried quietly at her bedside afterward when he had thought her to be asleep told her that much.

"After that, I told myself I would never let anything bad happen to you ever again. I'll always protect you, Hermione. I mean, if you'll let me, that is."

"I'll let you. Always." She whispered quietly as she gave his hand a gentle squeeze. Why had she resisted the help of others for so long? It felt wonderful to accept Ron's protection; his offer of _always_.

They sat there for a while; her in the bathtub and him on the floor. They talked about any and everything, from whether or not the Cannons had a shot at winning this season to much more troubling topics, like guilt and grief and death.

Hermione did not know how much time had passed, but suddenly the sun was rising and she knew Mr. and Mrs. Weasley would be rising soon as well.

"I suppose I should get out, but this feels so wonderful," she murmured. She loved magical baths; the water never got cold.

"Don't suppose you'd let me get in, you know, just to confirm that?" Ron asked with a grin.

"No, Ronald!"

"Worth a shot," he replied with a shrug.

Hermione reached over the side of the tub and grabbed her wand, summoning a big fluffy towel over. It opened itself up in invitation. She stood up quickly and wrapped herself in the towel.

"Bloody brilliant," she heard Ron mutter.

She arched an eyebrow at him in question, and he smirked. "Come on, Hermione. You naked and wet? That's bloody brilliant." She blushed, realizing that he must have seen everything.

There was a draft in the bathroom and it caused her to shiver. "You cold?" He asked, stepping toward her and wrapping her in a hug, then rubbing his hands quickly up and down her towel covered back.

Hermione tilted her head up and kissed him gently on the lips, then all of the sudden he was responding with such passion that he lifted her off her feet; towel and all. She was tired from lack of sleep and her body still ached dully but it didn't matter because she was in Ron's arms and he had suffered through the sleepless night and pain with her.

She was warm now; very warm. Ron's body was pressed tightly against her own and she was panting in an effort to keep up with snogging him all while marveling at the fact that she was snogging Ron while half naked in his family's loo.

Abruptly, there was a sharp knock on the door. "Arthur, is that you in there?" It was Mrs. Weasley.

Ron's eyes widened in a slight panic. She held her finger up to her lips, figuring it would be more believable that she would be up early rather than Ron.

"It's Hermione, Mrs. Weasley. I'll be down to help you in a minute." Another lie. Well, was it really lying? She just didn't mention that Ron was in here as well.

"Take your time, dear," Mrs. Weasley replied. Hermione heard footsteps walk down the hall and then fade away.

"Thank you for everything tonight, Ron," she said to Ron as she stood up on her tiptoes and kissed his cheek.

"No problem," Ron said, as if he hadn't only gotten one hour of sleep and sat on a hard floor for the rest of the night. "Whatever you need, remember. Always."


	41. Chapter 41

_Author's note: Hey guys! Thanks for the continued support! This chapter really is just a connecting chapter to set things up for the start of the Australia trip, but I hope you enjoy it all the same._

* * *

After deciding that Ron disapparating up to his room and she walking out into the hallway would lead to the least amount of suspicion from Mrs. Weasley, Hermione gave Ron a quick kiss on the cheek and urged him to be on his way.

"Come on, let's snog for a bit longer. Mum probably won't come back," Ron pleaded. However, Mrs. Weasley's brisk footsteps strolled past the door again, and Ron groaned. "Bloody hell. Don't get me wrong, I'm glad that she's getting out of bed again and everything, but I forgot how she can somehow be everywhere at once in this bloody house." He grabbed his wand and disapparated with a huff.

Hermione quickly redressed and opened the door, turning her head to look for the source of the footsteps. She could just make out Mrs. Weasley's head bobbing down the stairs. She sighed in relief, glad to have not come face to face with the older woman; no doubt there would have been questions as to why she was awake so early and Hermione would have had to come up with more quick lies to cover for both herself and Ron.

She quickly shuffled to Ginny's doorway, and knocked softly before peeking her head inside. Ginny sat against her headboard as Harry laid with his head resting in her lap. They were talking quietly as she gently played with his unruly hair.

"Hermione," Harry acknowledged, giving her a small nod and smile that didn't quite meet his eyes. "Still standing, I see." Ginny covered a giggle with her hand.

Hermione only rolled her eyes at him. He sat up and kissed Ginny on the top of her head, then nodded at Hermione again and quietly left the room.

"Is Harry alright, Ginny?" Hermione asked.

Ginny looked at her with tired eyes. "We were up talking all night. He's… missing everyone today."

Hermione nodded, understanding what Ginny meant by everyone: all of the important people in Harry's life who had died.

"Damn it, Hermione. It's all so unfair, isn't it?"

"Yes," Hermione agreed with a short answer.

"I love him, but I can't give him every kind of love, you know?" Hermione nodded in understanding. Harry had always craved a parental sort of love since the day she had met him. "I mean, obviously that's for the best, but it breaks my heart. Sometimes, when I think of him as a boy, being abused by those awful muggles…"

"I know, Gin," Hermione said in comfort, beginning to get a little emotional herself. Her heart ached for little Harry. She had only heard some of Sirius's rants about how awful Vernon and Petunia Dursley were coupled with a few of Harry's vague allusions as to what his childhood had been like, but it was enough to get an understanding. How could anyone find it in themselves to treat a child with such cruelty?

"I mean, I can only distract him with snogging or shagging for so long, you know?" Ginny mused out loud, breaking Hermione's train of thought.

Hermione raised an eyebrow at her.

"What?" Ginny said in defence. "I'm not saying it's not meaningful. But... sometimes it's nice to be able to not think about anything and just feel. But then it's over and everything comes rushing back…"

"I don't think there is anything wrong with finding comfort in each other, Ginny," Hermione offered.

Ginny sighed. "Yeah, but the problem is Harry never wants to talk. Sure, he'll talk about the facts of the situation, but he never wants to talk about his feelings. We were up talking all night, skating around the fact that he's obviously suffering from some sort of post traumatic stress and depression. I can't decide if it's a Harry thing or just a man thing in general."

"Maybe it's a little bit of both."

Ginny smirked. "I reckon you're right."

"Just… don't give up on him. He'll open up to you eventually," Hermione advised.

"I wasn't planning on it. Besides, your advice concerning my love life has been superb thus far; I would be crazy not to follow your orders," Ginny said with a smile.

Hermione nodded in approval and turned to dress for the day. She pulled the final outfit she had planned for herself to wear before leaving for Australia out of a drawer; everything else was packed neatly into her beaded bag.

"Heard you were drunk off your arse last night," Ginny said suddenly with a sly grin in her direction.

"I most certainly was not!"

"Harry told me you were laughing at his quidditch stories, Hermione. In what universe does a sober you find that shite hilarious?"

"Fine, I was a bit tipsy," Hermione admitted.

Ginny raised an eyebrow at her.

"That's all I have to say about it," Hermione said with an air of finality.

Ginny laughed. "Alright, but next time invite me, yeah? Bill and Fleur were fun last night but it sounds like you lot had a much better time."

"We did have fun," Hermione admitted.

"I'm glad. You three deserve it."

"I suppose we do," Hermione reluctantly agreed.

Ginny shook her head. "Don't suppose anything Hermione, you do deserve it."

"Thanks, Ginny," she replied. Ginny smiled at her and nodded. "I'll be leaving to help your mother now," Hermione added.

"I'll be down in a bit," said Ginny.

"See you down there," Hermione said as she walked out of Ginny's room and ventured downstairs.

Upon entering the kitchen, she ran right into Mr. Weasley. Studying his face closely, she realized just how tired and aged he appeared.

"Hermione! Glad I caught you! Here's your itinerary for tomorrow; thought you might want to have some time to take a look at it," Mr. Weasley said, thrusting an envelope into her hands.

"Thank you, Mr. Weasley," she managed, suddenly overwhelmed that she held tangible evidence of what was to come tomorrow.

"Of course! Now, I really must be on my way." He turned and made his way over to the sink, where Molly stood with her back to him. He placed his hands gently on her hips and leaned in to kiss her cheek, and Hermione swore she heard Mrs. Weasley giggle faintly. She turned around and made a show of tearing open the envelope, trying to drown out the sound of Mr. and Mrs. Weasley kissing. She had never seen them express such affection, but come to think of it there had to be some passion there; it wasn't as if the stork had brought all seven of their children.

Soon enough Mr. Weasley walked past her briskly and hastily threw some floo powder into the fireplace before shouting "Ministry of Magic!" and disappearing into the flames. Hermione scanned the contents of the envelope quickly before carefully placing it on the counter and walking over to Mrs. Weasley to offer her help.

* * *

She prayed for the seconds to somehow tick by slower the entire day, but time was just as persistent as ever and all too quickly it was nighttime, and after bathing and downing one of her potions she found herself back in Ron's room. She knocked on his door and entered when he called for her to come in. Ron was kneeling on the floor in front of his school trunk, trying to force the last of his clothes inside and cursing with every push.

"See, Hermione? I told you you would be better at this than me!"

"Oh hush, Ron. You're perfectly capable of packing your own trunk."

"Yeah yeah," Ron muttered as he gave his belongings a final shove. "You'll do the shrinking charm on this, right? I'm always rubbish at those."

"Sure," Hermione answered, motioning for him to get out of the way. " _Reducio_ ," she said clearly as she pointed her wand at Ron's trunk, shrinking it until it was small enough to fit into her bag.

"Brilliant," Ron said as he picked up the shrunken trunk and placed it into the bag. "So, I guess we're all set, right?"

"I guess," she echoed.

"We should probably get to sleep then."

"Probably."

"Want to snog a bit first?"

"Yes," she answered all too quickly.

Ron smirked and walked toward her, grabbing the back of her head and pulling her to him. She sunk into the aggressive kiss he placed on her lips, wrapping her arms tightly around his neck and sighing. Ron's tongue snuck its way into her mouth and she caressed it with her own tongue, eliciting a moan from him.

Ginny was right. It felt good, brilliant even, to let her mind go fuzzy and be consumed by the sensation of lust. Ron's tongue was doing amazing things inside of her mouth, and it was a much better feeling than how she felt when she thought about the war, or her torture, or her obliviated parents.

"Ron…" she moaned.

"Yeah?" He mumbled between kisses.

"Make me feel better," she sighed.

Ron stopped kissing her and pulled back, staring down at her with concerned eyes. "What exactly do you mean, Hermione?"

"Let's not think about anything anymore; let's just feel," she muttered, tugging at his neck and trying to pull his lips back down to hers.

"Woah, Hermione. Wait a second," Ron said, pushing her away gently and stepping back.

"What, Ron?" She asked, impatient. She wanted his warm body against her again.

"Listen, I know you're feeling really vulnerable right now. I don't want you doing something you'll regret."

"I would never regret doing anything with you, Ron," she said quietly.

"We should go to sleep," Ron countered. She could tell he was struggling with himself. He obviously wanted to throw her down on the bed and do what she had suggested. However, her mind was beginning to clear, and she realized that he was right; it was wrong to be doing this right now in an effort to distract herself from her worries.

Hermione nodded slowly, crawling into bed with him and staring up at the ceiling in silence. She snuck a glance at Ron and saw that his eyes were wide open as well.

"Remember what Harry said last night?" Ron asked quietly.

"Yes," she answered back just as quietly.

"What do you think? Think it could be true?" Hermione had been thinking about what Harry had said all day. Truthfully, she had had to stop herself from bombarding him with an endless amount of questions. He was in one of his brooding moods today and clearly wanted some space.

"I...yes, Ron. I think it could be true. After the past year, I believe anything is possible."

"Yeah, but why makes this possible?" He asked, looking at her with pleading eyes. She could tell that he wanted a logical explanation from her; the reasons as to why she had reached that conclusion, like when she had organized his class notes for him in bullet points.

"Well, we know the Hallows exist; we've seen proof of it. The existence of the Resurrection Stone means that there is an existence after death." Ron nodded, urging her to continue. "Harry should have died when that curse hit him, but he didn't."

"That's kind of his specialty," Ron said dryly.

"Yes, but even if the curse only destroyed the part of Voldemort that was inside of Harry...obviously it's unheard of to get hit with the killing curse more than once in a lifetime. A second exposure to it could have resulted in what Harry said happened. I believe him, don't you?"

"I know my best mate wouldn't lie to me, Hermione. I just wish I had some proof…"

"Isn't the Resurrection Stone proof enough?"

"Yeah, but I guess I just want to know it's a good place, ya know?"

"It has to be, Ron. If it's where Harry's parents are...and Sirius...and Remus…it's a wonderful place."

Ron didn't respond; only lapsed into another long silence. For a few minutes, neither of them spoke.

"I'm… I'm starting to come to terms with it. For the past month I didn't want to accept it, but it's starting to happen. I don't know if I should feel guilty or not."

"Oh Ron, it's only natural to eventually reach acceptance after you've suffered a loss."

Ron groaned. "I don't know, Hermione. You've always been better than me at the whole feelings thing. I'm not too keen on getting in touch with my emotions."

"You know you love me, don't you?" She asked.

Ron looked startled. "Well yeah, of course."

"Some would say that's the most complex feeling of them all."

Ron sighed. "How I feel about you isn't complicated in my mind. It's just a fact. I don't have to think about it; it just is. Everything else is so fucked up. Shite, I'm rubbish at explaining this."

"I understand, Ron." She really did. Hadn't she been thinking along the same lines lately? Everything in her world right now was a jumbled mess, but how she felt about Ron remained constant.

"See? I just spouted out a bunch of nonsense and somehow you still understand what I mean."

As the seconds ticked on, she couldn't help but think the morning was getting closer and closer as they spoke. Why was she filled with such worry and angst? Shouldn't she be happy that she was finally getting the opportunity to reunite with her parents?

"What's wrong?" Ron asked, peering into her eyes with a frown on his face. He had obviously sensed her apprehension.

"I'm worried about tomorrow," she admitted.

"We'll follow the itinerary. It won't be a problem."

"But what if we can't find them?"

"We found bloody Horcruxes, didn't we? We'll find them."

"But what if they hate me?"

"It wouldn't make sense for them to hate you," Ron said with a shrug.

"Ron!" She shouted, exasperated with him.

"What?"

"Not everything makes sense! Haven't we been through enough to realize that by now?"

"Sorry, Hermione, but if you give me a problem I'm going to tell you the logical solution. What else can I do?"

"You can empathize with me," she replied.

Ron's features softened. "I do, love. I'm just trying to help you."

"I don't need you to solve all of my problems, Ron. Sometimes I just want to hear that you understand… or that you agree that this whole situation is completely… rubbish!"

"Okay…" Ron answered, looking at her like he didn't quite understand. "This whole situation is completely rubbish."

"Don't say it if you don't mean it!" She yelled, crossing her arms.

"I do mean it! Bloody hell, woman!"

"Ron!" She chastised.

"What!? I just want to help you, Hermione."

"I know," she sighed. Obviously, they had very different lines of thinking when it came to matters such as these. When it came to predicaments, her mind always weaved an intricate web of subsequent problems. Ron didn't seem to have that issue.

"We'll be careful. We'll follow whatever protocol Kingsley tells us. Don't worry, Hermione. I mean it when I say I won't let anything happen to you."

"Okay, Ron. You're right. All we can do is try our best," she said, privately wondering what would happen if their best was not good enough.

"Can you promise me something, though?"

"What?" She asked suspiciously.

"If, Merlin forbid, something does happen out there, and you have a chance to get away, or save yourself, take it, alright? I know it's different than last time, but we're still going back out into the world, and some pretty nasty people out there don't like us all that much."

She shook her head. "No, Ron. I could never leave you in a bad situation. I just couldn't."

"Please, Hermione? You should have before, and you didn't…" Ron said, trailing off.

"What?" She asked sharply.

"In the forest, Hermione. When those snatchers were after us, you had your wand. You should have just apparated away! Why did you stay with us!? I would have stayed with Harry; I'm a pureblood, I would have been fine! Didn't you realize what they do to muggleborns!?" Ron was shouting now, and he looked angry.

"How can you even ask me that, Ron? Do you think I didn't know what they would do to me because I'm a Mudblood?"

Ron hissed and winced. "Don't call yourself that."

She ignored him, pressing on. "Do you think I didn't take one look at Greyback and realize… what he wanted to do to me?"

Ron looked like he was in pain. "I know you did, Hermione. Which is why I wish you would have gone…" She knew he only wished it because of what had come directly after their capture.

"Ron, I won't save myself over you. I won't do it."

"Please, Hermione."

"No."

Ron sighed. "You said I could protect you…"

"I didn't mean at your own expense."

"Well, I did," he said with certainty.

They stared at each other in stubborn silence. She felt guilty, in a way. Ron clearly felt strongly about this, but she didn't think it was his place to ask this of her. How could she bring herself to ever sacrifice him, when she loved him as much as he loved her?

"Ron...please don't make me promise something like that."

"I think we both know I could never make you do anything, Hermione. I'm asking you."

"Then I'm... respectfully declining."

Ron sighed, and did not respond.

"I'll do my best. I'll fight, and I won't give up. I can promise you that much," Hermione said. She had never felt more confident about her own words.


	42. Chapter 42

_Author's note: Hello all of my devoted readers! I'm frustrated that I couldn't get this chapter out for you sooner. I'm back at University and I'm in a really difficult program, so most of my week/weekends are devoted to class and studying. Never fear, for I will not give up on this story and have been working on it during my few hours of free time! Please please please bear with me, as these next few months are going to be hetic for me. It's difficult because as much as I want to get chapters out to you quickly, I don't want to give you crappy content because I rushed writing it. Once again, thanks for reading, reviewing, and following!_

* * *

Every other morning, Hermione had loved waking up in Ron's stuffy attic room. The sun shone through the window at just the right angle, making for a pretty glow. The players in Ron's Chudley Cannons posters would start to look livelier and zoom more quickly around the pitch. Ron's arms would be holding her tightly, and with that came an overwhelming feeling of safety and love.

This morning, however, felt different. There was something distinctly off, and it wasn't due to the fact that she had woken up screaming more times than normal throughout the course of the night. Looking out the window, she saw that is was a gloomy day. There was a faint mist of rain splattering against the window pane, and the Quidditch players had flown out of view. While she still reveled in the feeling of Ron's arms around her, it quickly reminded her of their conversation from last night.

Her disagreement with Ron from the night before left her feeling at a loss. She wanted to give him what he wanted; agree to leave him and save herself if she got the chance. However, she could not lie to him either. In her heart of heart's Hermione knew that she could never do what he had insisted. She could not do it when they were caught by snatchers, even though she immediately knew what her fate would be if she chose to stay. She would not do it on this mission. She would never do it in the future either, whether it be ten, twenty, or thirty years down the road.

"Hey." Ron's deep voice interrupted Hermione from her thoughts. He was laying on his side with his head resting in his hand, and looked as though he had been studying her face for a few minutes.

"Hey," she responded, sounding much more timid than she had intended.

"Ready?" He asked.

She didn't know how to respond. Ready for what, exactly? Ready to see her parents again? In theory, yes. However, she didn't know if she was ready for all it would entail.

When she did not answer him for a few seconds, Ron grabbed a stray hair away from her face and began to twirl it gently. "We'll take it one step at a time, yeah?" He asked quietly.

Hermione nodded, leaning her head into his touch. He was trying to be strong for her, but she knew him well enough to peer deep into his blue eyes and see the truth there. He was apprehensive about their mission as well. The way he stared at her in troubled concern confirmed that their conversation from last night was still on his mind.

Their eyes remained locked, and she wished that she could explain things to him in more detail, but there wasn't time. Instead, she leaned in and kissed him softly on the forehead, trying to convey everything she felt with the tender gesture. When she pulled back, his eyes were no longer filled with apprehension. Instead, he looked determined.

"Right. Step one: we get out of this bed, dressed, and downstairs for a spot of breakfast," Ron said.

Hermione nodded. That, she could do. There was nothing overwhelming about step one. She found the strength to get up, dressed, and downstairs in time for breakfast every single day.

She swung her legs over the side of the bed and stood up, wondering with a twinge of dismay when she would be so fortunate as to lay in Ron's embrace in this bed again. Days? Weeks? Months? Her feet on the ground seemed to signify the end of their little sanctuary that was Ron's stuffy attic bedroom. It was time to return to the real world. The world she had fought so hard to protect, but now given the choice she would much rather cuddle with Ron in this bed than witness the fruit of her labor.

There was a faint knock on the door, and Hermione walked over to open it, grateful for something to distract her from her forlorn thoughts.

It was Harry, of course. He stood in front of her with a friendly smile on his face. His green eyes seemed to say that he wanted to be alone with them to say his goodbyes. She stepped to the side and he walked into the room, then stood still.

"So… just wanted to come up and say… goodbye, and good luck. I'll miss you two," he said, giving them a sad smile.

"Oh, Harry!" She wailed, suddenly overcome with emotion. She launched herself at him, hugging him tightly around the neck.

Harry's only response was to pat her awkwardly on the back. "It's okay, Hermione," he said.

"We'll miss you too! So much!" Hermione replied, still hugging him. She would miss Harry immensely. Having spent almost every moment of the past year with him, it was strange to think that he would not be easily accessible anymore.

"You'll be back before you know it," said Harry .

Ron was now on his feet as well. "Thanks, mate," he said.

Ron held out his hand for Harry to shake, but Hermione merely grabbed Ron's outstretched hand and pulled him into their hug. She felt Ron and Harry tense for a second, but then they both relaxed. The three of them stood in a circle with their arms around each other for a few more seconds. A few tears leaked from her eyes and down her face as she thought about how much she loved these two boys.

Ron and Harry both broke the hug at the same time, stepping back and coughing. She glanced at both of them and saw that each boy was trying to discreetly wipe a tear from his eye.

"Alright, reckon we should get going," Ron said in an obvious attempt to change the subject.

"Okay," she said quietly.

He grabbed her hand and squeezed it. "Step one, okay? I'll wait for you outside Ginny's room."

"Alright," Hermione agreed. She took once last look around Ron's room, trying to burn the image into her memory forever. So much had transpired between the two of them in here over the past few weeks. She did not want it to end.

However, time did not seem to care about her plight, for the seconds ticked on and she was forced to shake herself out of her fantasies before they got off schedule. She grabbed her wand in one hand, her beaded bag in the other, then turned on the spot. Half a second later she was staring at Ginny's bedroom door.

Cautiously, she creeked the door open and peered inside. Ginny lay curled up in her bed.

"Come in, Hermione. You just missed Harry; he only just disapparated up to Ron's room," Ginny said groggily. Hermione closed the door behind her and proceeded to dress herself.

 _One step at a time,_ she chanted in her head as she pulled her tank top off and put a bra and shirt on. She kicked her bottoms off and settled on a pair of comfortable jeans. There was no need to get dressed up; they had a job to do. Her hair did not want to cooperate so she settled on tying it back into a long plait that laid all the way down her back and decided it would have to do.

Hermione glanced over at Ginny and saw that the younger girl was watching her with interest.

"What, Ginny?" She asked.

"You look very… intense, Hermione."

"Yes, well, I have to be. We're going into an intense situation," she replied, defending herself.

"I didn't mean it as an insult! I just meant… you're going to be fine. I know how torn up you are about all of this...but you've got what it takes."

"Oh. Well, thank you, Ginny," said Hermione, caught off guard by Ginny's assertion.

"Don't mention it. Promise me you'll make good choices," Ginny replied in a joking tone.

"Of course."

"And I want a full report of any _extracurricular activities_ you engaged in when you get back," Ginny said suggestively. "I think the not pretending we are talking about Harry and Ron thing is working out decently."

Hermione blushed. "Okay, Gin."

Then, Ginny's face became more serious. "I'll miss you, Hermione, even if it is just for a few days."

"I'll miss you too, Ginny," Hermione said with emotion, walking over and giving Ginny a hug. Ginny was like a sister to her, and she had enjoyed their girl time over the past few weeks.

There was a knock at the door, and it slowly swung open to reveal Ron. "I guess this is goodbye for now, Gin," he said, strolling over to the bed where Ginny still remained perched. "Look out for Mum, won't you?"

"Of course I will you git," Ginny retorted, reaching her arms out to hug Ron.

Ron pulled Ginny in tightly and gently patted her on the back. Ginny sniffed.

"Come on, Gin. We'll be back in a few days. Don't cry," Ron said soothingly.

"I'm not crying," Ginny responded stubbornly, as tears pooled in her eyes.

Ron pulled back and kissed Ginny on the top of her head. "Good," he replied.

Hermione sent Ginny one more fleeting smile before she and Ron turned, walking out of Ginny's room and descending the creaking staircase, stopping at the loo along the way to brush their teeth and wash up. By now she knew every twist and turn, but she still tried to memorize everything, from the paintings on the walls to the loose floorboards. How ironic, Hermione thought, that just as she had finally felt as though she truly belonged at the burrow, she had to leave.

Mrs. Weasley was in the kitchen of course, preparing a breakfast for the two of them. She turned when they entered the room, and studied them with a fond sadness.

"Good morning, dears," Mrs. Weasley said quietly.

"Morning, Mum. What's for breakfast?" Ron asked, oblivious to his mother being upset.

"I made your favorite, Ron. I made sure there was some extra for you to take with you."

"Brilliant," Ron replied as he pulled a chair out for Hermione to sit in. Hermione saw Mrs. Weasley narrow her eyes slightly as his movement. Immediately, Hermione's brain started whirling and she quickly deduced that Mrs. Weasley must have been struck by what a couple-like gesture it was.

She gladly took his offer and sat down on the chair he had pulled out, while trying to look anywhere but Mrs. Weasley's face.

Ron continued to remain oblivious, and started heaping piles of food onto his plate as usual. She poured some tea for both of them, and added three sugars to Ron's cup, as he always took his tea extremely sweet.

"Thanks, Hermione," Ron said, obviously happy that she knew how he liked his tea. He leaned over and kissed her lightly on the cheek. Mrs. Weasley's face crumpled and she turned away from them and back to the dishes in the sink.

Hermione wished that Ron would stop showing affection toward her, no matter how much she was enjoying it. His actions obviously reinforced Mrs. Weasley's concerns about them being 'an item' while on their journey, instead of just friends.

"Morning, Weasley's! And Hermione, of course!" Mr. Weasley shouted as he briskly walked into the kitchen. Hermione smiled. Whether is was one Weasley or the whole lot of them, Mr. Weasley always referred to them as "Weasley's" when he left for work or arrived home after a long day.

"Hey, Dad," Ron answered. Hermione could only manage a smile.

"Ready to go soon, you two?"

"Yeah," Ron answered for both of them. Mrs. Weasley let out a sob that she had been trying to control, causing Ron to look at her in alarment. "Mum? What's wrong?" He asked, clearly confused as to why she was crying.

"Nothing, Ronnie. I'll be okay," Mrs. Weasley replied, tugging at her apron and using it to dry her tears.

"Don't be sad, Mum. We'll be back before you know it."

This only caused Mrs. Weasley to sob even louder. Ron looked even more alarmed. "Come here and say goodbye, then. Both of you," said Mrs. Weasley, with tears still streaking down her face.

Hermione stood first and hugged the woman she had come to think of as her surrogate mother. "Goodbye, Mrs. Weasley. Thank you for everything," she said, trying to convey every ounce of appreciation she had for Mrs. Weasley into one hug.

Mrs. Weasley kissed her on the top of her head. "Be careful, sweetheart," she said quietly.

"I will," Hermione replied.

Then, Ron was standing behind her, waiting to get his hug in before they left. Mrs. Weasley grabbed onto him and buried her face into his chest; Ron was more than a head taller than his mother.

"You come back, you hear me?" She demanded.

Ron peered over his mother's head and looked at Hermione in alarm. "Of course I'm coming back, Mum."

"I love you, Ronnie. Be careful, please," Mrs Weasley said, her tone almost verging on pleading.

" 'course , Mum. I'll see you later, okay?"

Mrs. Weasley took one last look at her youngest son; whom she had on more than one occasion referred to as her baby boy. All this time, Hermione thought that Mrs. Weasley had been slightly overreacting about Ron leaving home again, but in this moment realized that she had been wrong. Molly's children were obviously her whole world; of course it would be painful to part with one of them, especially after what Ron had been through the last time he had decided to venture from the burrow.

Mrs. Weasley ran her fingers through his hair a few times and nodded. Ron obviously took this as a sign to let go of his mother and grab Hermione's hand. Turning to Mr. Weasley, he asked, "Ready, Dad?"

"Sure thing, son. We really must be going. I'll see you tonight, Molly dear," he said, walking over and kissing Mrs. Weasley on the cheek.

Hermione made to walk toward the fireplace, figuring that she and Ron would be accompanying Mr. Weasley directly into the Ministry of Magic. However, Mr. Weasley stopped her.

"We'll be meeting Kingsley outside, Hermione; at one of the entrances in muggle London."

"Oh," she replied, confused as to why they should make Kingsley go out of his way when he was already doing so much for them.

"Yes, it would seem that… he thought it best if you two did not show up at the Ministry, until he gets matters squared away at least."

"Yeah, Dad said apparently there's some kind of petition going around to have us banned from the place due to criminal activity, what with what happened the last time we were there," Ron interjected offhandedly.

"What!?" She exclaimed, momentarily shocked and extremely upset. Of course, it made sense. They had infiltrated the Ministry last year and done numerous illegal things while there, but to be banned? She started panicking, wondering what her chances of ever finding a job would be if she were banned from the Ministry of Magic.

Ron saw the troubled look on her face. "Don't worry, Hermione. Mostly it's sketchy blokes who probably supported Voldemort and just want to make trouble for us. Dad says it will blow over."

Hermione nodded, trying to not let this bother her, but it was difficult. She had known helping Harry with his mission would lead to things like this; had told herself many times that she did not care. However, it upset her that even after they had won, some people out there still saw her as a criminal.

Mr. Weasley reached out and grabbed Ron's hand. "Everyone ready?"

Hermione took one last look around the kitchen, and her eyes rested on Mrs. Weasley's distraught face. She turned and nodded to Mr. Weasley, not caring where he was side-alonging them to as long as it meant she wouldn't have to witness Mrs. Weasley's heartache any longer. The longer she looked, the more guilty she felt.

All of the sudden, everything felt tight and compressed as Mr. Weasley disapparated, but as they moved through thin air she still felt Ron's hand in her own. He gave it a squeeze, causing her to mentally chastise him for unnecessary movement during apparation, no matter how sweet it was.

Her feet hit pavement, and she blinked, allowing for her eyes to adjust to the surroundings. They stood in an alley, but just around the corner she could hear the hustle and bustle of muggle London. Large raindrops smacked her in the face; she was very quickly becoming drenched with water.

"This way!" Mr. Weasley shouted, turning and motioning for them to follow him. She and Ron quickly complied, and soon enough the alley opened. The city of London stood before her, and she was momentarily struck by how normal it all was. These muggles had been here, going about their normal days in this city, while the fate of their existence was counting on she, Ron, and Harry to succeed.

Did the businessman who brushed by her while yelling into his mobile take the same route every day last year, while she had been close to starving to death in a forest? What about the mother staring down at her baby lovingly as she pushed him in a pram? Did she take her baby out for fresh air every day, loving him in a way that only a mother could, not knowing that she might never get to see him him grow up? It was all very unsettling to think about.

However, she did not have much time to think, because Ron put his arm around her shoulders and tugged her forward. Mr. Weasley was bobbing and weaving through the crowd; she almost lost sight of him a few times as they got closer and closer to their destination. They turned a corner, and suddenly she could make out Kingsley ahead of them, casually leaning against a telephone booth. He looked much more at ease and fit in with the muggles better than Mr. Weasley did.

Ron pulled her closer and leaned down to whisper in her ear. "Step two: we listen to Kingsley and catch the first portkey, okay?"

"Okay," she whispered back, as they approached Kingsley.

"Good morning, Minister," Mr. Weasley said, reaching forward to shake Kingsley's hand.

"Arthur," the newest Minister of Magic replied, giving Mr. Weasley a slight nod.

"Hello, sir. Thank you so much for doing this," Hermione interjected.

"No, thank you; for everything you've done. The Wizarding World owes you two a great debt. This is the least I can do," Kingsley replied in his deep voice. He stepped forward and shook both of their hands.

Hermione only nodded in response. It felt odd to receive such respect and admiration from an adult. Only, she supposed that she was now an adult as well.

"Now, listen carefully," he continued. "International portkeys still have not been cleared yet, so keep a low profile. I assume you've read the itinerary?" He asked, looking at Hermione. She nodded. "Then you know it will take you a few days to arrive in Australia. All of Europe is a mess right now; it was difficult to get other countries to coordinate with me."

"That's fine, sir. Thank you so much," Hermione replied.

"Here is your first portkey; it's taking you to an alleyway in France, just to get you across the English Channel." Kingsley continued, handing her a teaspoon. Hermione nodded, knowing that it was difficult to travel by portkey or apparation over large bodies of water. "There is a cafe across the street; a squib colleague of mine owns the place. Go in and order a cup of pickles, he'll know what you mean and give you the next one. There is a lay over for a few hours, then you'll arrive in Singapore and have to catch the next one the morning after. I apologize for not being able to tell you more, but if you follow the directions I have written down it should not be a problem."

"Of course, thank you again," Hermione said, feeling like just thanking him was not enough. He had obviously gone through a lot of work to set this up for them.

"No thanks necessary, Ms. Granger. Farewell, and good luck." With that, he turned and stepped into the telephone booth, pressed a few numbers on the keypad, and descended down into the Ministry.

Mr. Weasley gave an approving nod. "Alright, kids. You have-" he glanced at his watch "- two minutes until the portkey leaves. Best get into the telephone booth."

Hermione turned and gave Mr. Weasley a bone crushing hug. He seemed surprised for a moment, but then only chuckled slightly and patted her on the back. She let go of him, wanting to give Ron some time to say goodbye.

"Alright, Dad. See you," Ron said, holding his hand out.

Mr. Weasley nodded, and shook Ron's hand with what looked like a tight grip. "Be careful, son."

"We will," Ron replied.

That was all that seemed needed to be said between the father and son. With a final nod, Ron opened the booth door and motioned for her to step inside. He followed her, and she held out the teaspoon so he could grab one end. Mr. Weasley had already turned away from the two of them, obviously trying to appear nonchalant as he guarded the door.

Hermione and Ron stared at each other; waiting for the portkey to take effect. It began to glow, and she closed her eyes, waiting for the sensation of being dragged into the illuminating object in her hand.

Hermione felt a tug, and went with it, fighting the urge to pull back. She was still uncomfortable with her body being forced in any direction. She had to remind herself that this was a portkey; not a snatcher, or Bellatrix, grabbing her and throwing her body around like a rag doll.

It felt as though she was being pulled for a very long time, when in reality she knew it was only a few seconds at most. Her feet smacked down hard onto the pavement and she stumbled. Ron let go of the teaspoon and it fell to the ground with a clatter as he reached forward to grab her shoulders and steady her.

"You alright?" He asked, peering into her eyes with concern.

"Yes," She replied breathily.

Ron nodded. "Good. Now step three. Let's find that cafe and get the next portkey," he said, walking toward the street and seemingly forgetting about the teaspoon. Hermione grabbed the spoon and picked it up, stowing it in her bag. Grant it, the teaspoon was useless now, but she had a feeling she might want something to remember this trip by; the first time she and Ron had gone away together. Of course, the circumstances were not as romantic as she had envisioned, but it still counted.

"Here we go! Look, there it is!" Ron exclaimed, pointing across the street.

Hermione peered across the street, and sure enough there was a little cafe. They grabbed for each other's hands and hurried along, walking to the door quickly and stepping inside. The place was crowded, and muggles chatted amicably with each other, making for a noisy atmosphere. A man standing behind the counter glanced up when they entered, and by the look in his eyes she could tell he knew who they were.

Ron grabbed her and held her back. "I don't like the look on his face, Hermione."

"Ron, Kingsley obviously gave him a description of us," she retorted.

"Yeah, but plenty of people know who we are. What if it's a Death Eater come here to kill us?"

She sighed, knowing that Ron had every right to be cautious. "We'll approach him slowly, alright? Have your wand at the ready."

"Okay," Ron said, giving in. He grasped her hand and tugged her so that she stood slightly behind him.

As they walked closer to the man, Hermione studied him closely, looking for signs of a twitch in his hand; anything to indicate that he had a wand. However, nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary.

"Hello," she said brightly. "Can we please have a cup of pickles? I know it seems like a strange order, but-"

"Sure thing, miss," the man answered. He reached under the counter and presented a cup to the two of them. "Will that be all?"

"Oh, um, yes. Thank you very much," she replied.

The man nodded and gave her a wink. Ron coughed loudly and shot him a warning look. Hermione rolled her eyes as she grabbed his hand and led them toward a table, placing the cup carefully into her beaded bag.

"We might as well order something, right?" She suggested. "We'll be here for a while."

"Okay, yeah," Ron said, never one to say no to food.

She ordered a cappuccino, while Ron somehow had the room to put down a whole second breakfast. When the bill came, she made to pull out some of her muggle money, but Ron quickly brushed her off. Her eyebrows rose in question when he pulled out some muggle money from his pocket.

He shrugged. "I asked dad to convert some of my knuts for me."

Hermione wanted to protest, but then bit her tongue. It was obviously important to him that he paid for the meal, so she let him. He smiled when she did not argue with him.

They walked around the town for a few hours, window shopping to kill time. At first, Ron did not want to go any where, thinking that it was too dangerous, but she insisted and got him to reluctantly agree when she asserted that they could not live in fear forever. After a few hours, they ducked into an alley to catch the cup portkey. It landed them in a parking lot behind a big building.

"That must be the hotel," Hermione inferred.

"Let's go then, Hermione. I don't fancy being out here at night," Ron replied. Hermione realized that the sun was beginning to set. Had they already gotten through the first day of this journey? It seemed like a lifetime ago when she was in the Weasley's kitchen this morning.

Hermione did most of the talking when they checked into the hotel; thankfully the receptionist spoke english. As hard as Ron tried, he still did not understand most muggle terminology. Once they received their key cards, she quickly walked to the elevator and pressed their floor number, suddenly desperate to lay down. It had been a long day.

They found their room relatively quickly, and she opened the door, almost gasping at the site before her. The room was beautiful; a suite, with a large bed donned with what look like satin sheets. Everything from the furniture to the wallpaper was beautiful. Harry was right; Kingsley had obviously spared no expense.

Exhausted, she threw herself down onto the king sized bed. Ron chuckled from behind her and closed the door quietly. He then walked over and copied her actions, throwing himself onto the bed as well. She giggled, then turned on her side to look at him.

Suddenly, it occurred to her that they were alone. Not alone in the sense of being in the attic of the burrow and putting up a few silencing charms, but actually alone. In a foreign country, without the possibility of anyone walking in on them. It felt different like this. Before, she had felt like she was playing the role of the rebellious teenager, defying Mrs. Weasley to have sexual trysts with Ron in his room. Now, she felt as though this situation seemed much more… grown up. They could do absolutely anything they wanted, without the threat of Mrs. Weasley banging on the door or Harry walking in on them the next morning.

"So, what's step four?" She asked suggestively.

* * *

 _Author's note: So, I hope that was at least worth the wait a little. This chapter was really supposed to be setting them up for the actual action that's going on when they get to Australia. I thought about skipping over them leaving the burrow in the morning and talking to Kingsley and just have them leave with the portkey, however, I really wanted to portray the thoughts and feelings of everyone when Hermione and Ron left. It obviously would have been difficult for everyone; they have all become such a tight knit group at the burrow while grieving the loss of Fred. Hope you guys like me writing out everything step by step, and it's not too boring. Let me know! Much love and thanks again for your patience!_


	43. Chapter 43

_Author's note: Hey everyone! Fair warning, this chapter is super mushy and has some sexual content. I just couldn't help myself. I blame my natural tendencies to be a hopeless romantic. Also, Hayley404, thanks for leaving such a nice review, and I hope that you are safe and sound despite the hurricane! Alright, on with the chapter!_

* * *

"Step four? Well, it's rather hard to explain. Maybe I should just show you. It goes a little something like this," Ron replied to her question, sounding confident and carefree.

He grabbed her and rolled himself on top of her, then paused. She was momentarily confused by his hesitation, but then realized that he was making sure she was alright with their current position. She gave him a slight nod, and the next moment he was snogging her madly, seemingly putting all of his passion for her into his kisses.

Her mind went blank, and she gave into the feeling of Ron. His large body and big hands. The scruff on his unshaven face faintly scratching against her cheek. She laced her legs around his waist and flung her arms around his neck, suddenly very overcome by her love for him.

"Thank you for coming here with me," she spoke quietly in his ear.

He paused, then propped himself up on his elbows and looked at her. "You don't have to thank me, Hermione."

"Yes, I do." He had chosen to be with her over his own family in their time of grief. Why did he not think he at least deserved a thank you?

Ron shook his head. "No. This isn't a burden for me. I want to be here. I couldn't have lived with myself if you went off and did this on your own. In fact, I should probably be thanking you for letting me come with you."

She stared at him in disbelief. "Ron-"

"Remember what I said? I care about you the most," he interjected.

She continued to stare at him, touched by his words. "Ron-" she began for the second time, her voice having turned emotional.

He interrupted her again. "Hey, why don't you go take one of your baths? It's been a long day; you should relax a bit." He was obviously trying to avoid her rebuttal. However, now that he mentioned it, she was exhausted and grubby from the long day.

"Alright," she conceded, then rolled away from him and off the bed.

Hermione gathered her toiletries and potion from her beaded bag, and just as she was about to enter the bathroom Ron stopped her.

"Hey Hermione? Will you show me how this thing works? Dad has one of them out in the shed and he's bloody obsessed with it," Ron inquired, pointing to the television in the corner of the room.

"Sure," she answered, once again reminded about how unaware of muggle things Ron was. She grabbed the remote control and walked over to him. "You use this to control the stations. Here," she said, pointing it at the television and turning the device on.

Ron gasped and looked at the screen. "That's bloody brilliant."

"Yes. You can tune into different stations. Just press this button to go up or down."

"Okay," Ron said with an excited nod. She smiled at his apparent infatuation with the telly, and left him to his own devices.

When Hermione entered the bathroom, she was momentarily stunned once again by the beauty of this hotel. There was a large walk-in shower and a huge, luxurious looking bath. Beautiful marble coated the counter tops. A few fluffy white bathrobes hung from the hooks, and sweet smelling soap made the room feel relaxing.

Hermione eagerly went straight to the large bathtub. Using her wand, she flicked the water on and did the spell to make different colors and scents emerge from the tap. Soon, the air became steamy and she eagerly pulled her clothes off and sunk down into the warm water. She sighed, trying to relax and will her mind not to think about the possibility of this mission going wrong. So far, everything had gone smoothly, but she did not want to speak too soon.

Instead, her mind drifted back to the boy on the other side of the door. _No, man_ , she thought, mentally correcting herself. Ron had somehow become a man over the past year, and not just physically.

She almost couldn't believe how hard she had fallen for the man he had become. Briefly, Hermione wondered what her eleven year old self would think if she learned that a few years down the road she would be madly in love with Ron Weasley. The thought made her laugh; how things had changed. She couldn't get over how hard she had fallen for Ron; it was overwhelming to think about sometimes. Would she always feel like this, or was it just because their relationship was new and exciting? Hermione had a feeling that had nothing to do with it; she was just madly in love with Ron, and that was that. It was a law now.

After a while, she reluctantly ended her bath and emerged from the bathroom, wrapped in one of the hotel's fluffy white robes, and dragging a brush through her overgrown hair as she walked.

"Hermione, this thing is brilliant. Are you sure this isn't some sort of magic? How the hell did muggles figure out how to change the station by just pointing this thing at it?" Ron asked as he flew through the channels on the television at lightening speed, pressing the button on the remote rapidly.

She giggled. "No, Ron. It's not magic."

He shook his head in disbelief, now turning the volume up all the way. "Bloody hell, you can make it louder?"

"Of course," she replied with another giggle. Ron's fascination with muggle things was very endearing to her.

He finally glanced over at her, and when he saw what she was wearing he grinned. She froze with her brush still in her hair, certain that Ron was about to all but pounce on her by the way he was looking at her.

Hermione walked over to him, climbing up onto the large bed and settling herself in his lap. She sensed something was about to happen, but decided that she would let Ron make the first move. It seemed as though he was becoming more and more sure of her attraction to him, and thus was taking more control of their physical exploits. She found that she quite liked his new found confidence.

"You know, this is how I like you the best, Hermione. All natural and beautiful," Ron said, giving a lock of her wet hair a twirl.

She merely nodded, trying to focus on whatever station the telly had landed on. She wanted to turn and crush her lips against his, but was determined to stick to her plan. Ron laced his arms around her, and went back to watching the television. He began to trace circles on her thigh, but other than that he seemed enthralled by the muggle invention in front of them. Just when she thought she had read the situation wrong and he really did just want to watch the television, he grabbed her by the waist and very quickly had her flipped and laying on her back. She bounced slightly on the silk sheets from the force of it.

"Ron! What in the world-" she began.

"Hermione, you can't sit half naked on my lap and expect me not to do anything," he said, giving her a pointed look.

Hermione nodded her head in teasing but reluctant agreement. "Well, I should hope so," she replied, giving him a smirk.

Then, his lips were against her own, and a thirst that she hadn't realized she possessed began to be quenched. Ron began pressing furious kisses against her mouth, and then down the side of her neck. He sucked directly on her pulse point, and she briefly wondered if she would find bruises there in the morning. She found she didn't care; she liked the idea of being marked by Ron.

Ron started kissing her chest, pulling her robe apart so as to expose more and more skin. He traveled down her stomach, and when he got to the knot in her robe he fumbled with it for a few seconds before that was undone as well. He kissed her belly button, then made his way even further down to the inside of her thighs. She clamped her legs shut instinctively.

"Hermione, can I…?" Ron trailed off, but his question was obvious.

"Oh. Um, I don't know. Would you really want to?" She asked, unsure. Sure, she had known that it was a possibility, but she had never thought much about it. In her mind, it seemed like something that more often women did to men.

Ron vehemently nodded his head in response.

"Are you sure, Ron? I don't want you to do something you find to be disgusting, or-"

"What!?" Ron exclaimed. "Hermione, maybe I haven't really gotten through to you on how disgusting blokes are. Trust me, this doesn't come close to some of the things I want to do to you. Doesn't even make the top ten."

She didn't quite know how to process that information. "Oh. Well, if you want to, then… yes. We can...try it." Her heart was beginning to beat rapidly out of her chest. She knew this would make her feel extremely vulnerable, but she was beginning to find that she liked showing her vulnerable side to Ron.

Ron grinned and yanked her robe all the way off, and she shivered at both the coldness of the room and his intense gaze upon her naked body. He stared at her for a few seconds, as if he was making a game plan in his head. He nodded. Then, his mouth was on her, and she gasped, surprised at how good it felt.

"Oh!" She breathed, "Oh my God, Ron!"

"Yeah?" He asked, picking his head up to look at her.

"Nothing, keep going!" She gasped, using her legs to try to direct him back down.

She saw him smirk and then he grasped her thighs, pulling them apart as wide as they could go. It felt strange to be this exposed, but she found she was not self conscious. Now, Ron had really seen every inch of her. It felt liberating.

He was kissing her there, the same way he kissed her on the mouth. He worked his tongue into the mix and she moaned. It seemed like he was moaning as well; she could feel his mouth vibrating against her.

It was so erotic, and the whole situation felt downright… naughty. She liked it. Just as she would give into solely feeling the pleasure, a few minutes later Ron's unshaven face would scratch against her lightly and she would remember that it was his mouth on her and the thought would turn her on even more.

"Fuck…" she gasped, and hadn't even realized that she had sworn until Ron faltered for a few seconds, obviously shocked.

However, he quickly recovered and sped up his ministrations, continuing to lick and kiss exactly where she had taught him to touch her, and she smiled; he was a quick learner.

Sprawled across these beautiful silk sheets with Ron's head between her legs, she never felt so alluring. Ron's moans made it seem as though she was the best thing he had ever tasted. She gave into the erotic moment even more and spread her legs apart even further than she thought possible.

She began to writhe on the bed, unable to control her movements. Her back arched and she screamed faintly, overcome with the intensity of her building climax. Never before had she felt something so physically blissful. Ron grabbed her hips and pinned her down as she squirmed, but she continued to buck her hips against his face to the best of her ability despite his overwhelming strength.

"Oh! Oh my goodness! Ron!" She cried out, grabbing onto his hair and pulling him closer. She felt him smirk against her. "Yes! Right there!" He kept his mouth exactly where she wanted it; he certainly was good at following instructions.

"Ron!" she gasped, as her ecstasy reached its peak. Her entire body went limp, and she sank back down onto the luxurious bed, breathing heavily.

Ron was chuckling as he slowly crawled his way up her naked body. He turned onto his side and brought her with him, then began to slowly rub her back. She breathed shakily into his chest, unable to find the ability to formulate a coherent sentence just yet.

Finally, her breathing slowed back down to a normal pace, and she stared at him; incredulous. Just when she was about to ask him just where he had learned to do that, he spoke.

"You're it for me, Hermione," Ron said quietly as he rubbed her back.

"What?" She asked, as her eyes rounded in shock.

Of course they had both alluded to the fact that they wanted to be together for a long time; even talked about hypothetical children. But all of that talk had been to prove a point, whether it was to convince Mrs. Weasley to accept Ron going on this trip or Ron trying to convince Hermione to go to St. Mungo's. They talked about their love never ending and spending forever with each other, but it all seemed rather romanticized. But this… Ron sounded so matter of fact and sure about it. He had never said it so…blatantly.

"I said, you're it for me," Ron replied, still as calm as ever.

"Oh, Ron. You're it for me too," she whispered, overcome with emotion. Tears started to leak from her eyes.

"Don't cry, love. Does the prospect of marrying me make you that upset?" he joked, obviously not wanting to see her cry.

"Marrying you?" She asked, somehow dumbfounded that he had just come out and said it so simply.

"Well, yeah. I'd like to make an honest woman out of you," he said, still in a teasing tone. "Some day. I reckon we're too young to be engaged."

Hermione only nodded in response. "Of course…" she said, trailing off. Her brain began to whirl, wondering how Ron knew at the young age of eighteen that he wanted to spend forever with her. Of course, she felt the same exact way, but wasn't it different for men? Didn't they want time to 'sew their wild oats' so to speak?

"You're positive?" She asked.

Ron must have sensed her disbelief, because he pushed her up into a sitting position and sat up as well. He grasped her hand in his.

"Hermione, you're the love of my life. I'm serious. I've never loved anyone as much as I love you. Why would I ever want to be with anyone else? The way I see it, we were lucky enough to find each other at such a young age; some people spend their whole lives looking for love and never find it."

Her tears began to fall again. "You're the love of my life, too. I've never loved anyone or anything as much as I love you, Ron. I… it hurts me, sometimes, how much I love you. It's like my heart can't take it."

"I know, love," Ron said, wiping a tear from her cheek. He reached for her and pulled her into his lap. She clung to him, and began to sob even louder.

"We're going to be fine, Hermione. We'll have a nice house down the lane from Harry and Ginny's place; our kids can all play together. I'll build you a library; as big as you want it. We can even have a cat door for Crookshanks, if we must," Ron added.

She continued to cry quietly into Ron's chest, envisioning everything he had just said. It all sounded rather wonderful, if she was being honest. She was a bit astounded that Ron could have such a romantic vision of their future in his mind.

"As big as I want it?" She asked, peering up at him and smiling.

"As big as you want it, I promise," Ron said gently.

"I'm going to hold you to that," she replied in a warning tone.

He merely smiled back at her, then his smile turned into a smirk. "So...I made you say fuck."

"You didn't make me do anything, Ron. I wanted to swear, so I did," she replied primly.

Ron scoffed. "Admit it, Hermione. I was so good that you couldn't control yourself."

"Fine, you were very good. Great, even." He grinned, looking a little too proud of himself. "In fact, um, how did you acquire this... skill?" She inquired, unable to stop herself from asking.

"What, I can't just be naturally brilliant at it?"

She gave him a look of disbelief.

He sighed. "Fine. I might have… asked Bill for some advice."

"Ron! Bill knows about this!?" She gasped.

"Er, yeah. But it's not like he's going to tell anyone. Well, maybe Fleur..." Ron mused. "Would you have rather I didn't ask him?" Ron challenged. "Or worse, asked George?" He added.

"Well...when you put it that way…" she giggled. He leaned in and kissed her.

"I think I might go take a shower now," said Ron.

"Alright," she agreed, reluctantly climbing out of his lap and diving under the sheets.

He made his way into the bathroom, and she laid on the extravagant king sized bed, staring up at the ceiling in slight wonderment. Never mind what she had just allowed Ron to do to her, as that in and of itself was astounding enough, but she was overwhelmed by his words. Even though she thought she knew how sweet he could be, he had obviously been holding back on her. How was it possible that someone loved her as much as he did? She had never quite believed that there was anything too extraordinary about herself, yet Ron thought the world of her. Sure, other people in her life knew and loved her, but not as ardently as he did. She could see it in his eyes everytime he looked at her. She wondered what her face looked like when she looked at him.

Deciding to dress before Ron returned, Hermione rolled out of the bed and obtained a pair of pajamas from her bag; the frilly ones that she knew Ron liked. Then, she dove back under the warm duvet and tried to get comfortable to the best of her ability. Hermione realized that this big bed felt strangely empty, especially without Ron laying next to her. She much rather preferred his cramped bed, pushed up against a corner of the attic.

Ron emerged from his shower, wearing only pajama bottoms. "It's bloody warm in here," he muttered.

"Ron, are you serious? I'm freezing cold," Hermione replied, shivering slightly.

"I'll warm you up," he said, getting into the bed next to her and pulling her to him. His large body was a furnace. "Damn it, I was hoping you would still be naked under here," he cheeked. She slapped his arm. "What!? Purely for survival reasons! You'd get warmer faster, you know, if we took off all of our clothes." She slapped him again.

Suddenly, the exhaustion she had felt earlier in the evening came back full force, and her eyes flickered. Ron's chest began to rise and fall steadily, and she realized that he had fallen asleep. She took a few deep breathes, trying to calm herself, despite what most likely awaited her in her dreams. It would be okay, she tried to convince herself. No matter what nightmare she had, it wouldn't be real. She would wake up and be in Ron's arms in this extravagant bed.

However, she thought with dread, it always _felt_ real, and the dread and sorrow she felt after awakening was definitely real. It didn't matter, though. She could not fight it. Her body betrayed her mind, giving into its basic human urge to rest, and she succumbed, somehow feeling happy and sad all at once as she drifted off to sleep.


	44. Chapter 44

Author's note: Hey everyone! Once again, I can't thank you all enough for the continued support and reviewing! I had more free time than usual this weekend, so I worked extra hard to get this chapter out for you guys. I hope you like it! Also, feel free to keep making requests or suggestions; I read every single review and try to send back a private message if the person has an account that allows it.

* * *

 _A male body; on top of her, crushing her. Instantly, she knew it was not Ron. Even though Ron could conceivably pin her down with as much force as this monster on top of her, he would never treat her like this. Ron loved her._

 _A growl, almost unhuman, heard right next to her ear._

 _"What do you say, Mudblood? Should I unwrap my present?" Greyback's hot, foul smelling breath hit her neck as he dug his claws into her waist._

 _She shrieked in pain, which only served to make him cackle maniacally. He shifted and thrust roughly against her, pressing something hard and intrusive against her stomach. Tears sprang into her eyes and she desperately tried to keep the bile down that rose to her throat._

 _She contemplated fighting, but decided that would only make it worse for her; he would probably revel in her struggle. After all, if Bill, a grown man, could not fight Greyback off, how did she stand a chance?_

 _Her shirt was ripped off of her frail body, and she heard the other male Death Eaters in the room whistle and cheer. Greyback's full body pressed against her, and she almost passed out from the sheer weight of him. She could not even muster up enough strength to ask him to kill her first._

 _She prayed Ron would not hear this. If she somehow managed to survive, would he even want her anymore? She would be tainted; another casualty of the war…_

 _She heard the zipper of his trousers and prepared herself, keeping her body as still as possible and staring up at the ceiling. Then, he sunk his teeth into her shoulder and she couldn't stop herself from screaming._

* * *

The weight on top of her felt different. Still heavy and more powerful than her, but also somehow more good-natured. The pain she had felt moments ago was gone, and her strength seemed to have returned. She struggled furiously, screaming high pitched shrieks of terror.

"Hermione, you have to calm down! Please!"

"Let me go!" Her voice was back as well.

The weight rolled off of her, and instinctively she jumped up and scrambled away, falling off the bed and crashing to the floor. She continued crawling backward, bumping into random furniture. Then, someone had their arms around her again, and hoisted her off the ground, holding her in the air to restrain her. She kicked her legs out, but could not touch the floor, so she settled on struggling as much as she could.

"Hermione! It's Ron!"

Hermione froze instantly, becoming a dead weight in his arms. She turned her head quickly, and from the moonlight streaming through the window she could just make out Ron's face.

"Oh God," she moaned, feeling both an enormous sense of relief and despair.

He dragged her back to the bed and placed her down. She continued to sob, and thrust her face into a pillow in an attempt to drown herself out. Ron reached out a hand and gently touched her shoulder, and she tried to focus solely on his touch.

"Hermione, please, please just… look at me. Let me know you're okay…" Ron pleaded.

She couldn't stand to hear him sounding so tormented over her. Struggling to roll over, she looked into his eyes to the best of her ability, as the tears were still obscuring her vision.

She heard him let out a sigh of relief. "Hermione, you were kicking me like crazy. What happened?"

"Oh, R-ron, I'm s-so sorry! Did I h-hurt you!?" She stuttered.

He non verbally told her no with a quick jerk of his head. "What happened?" He asked again.

She took a deep breath, not wanting to retell her nightmare, but also knowing Ron would not rest until he knew. "It was… Greyback. It was… more vivid than I ever remember it being…" Why did this have to follow her wonderfully intimate experience with Ron from earlier? Could she not have one day of peace?

Ron scowled and punched a pillow with what looked like all of his strength.

"When we were there… I really thought… _knew_... he was going to rape me. I just hoped he would kill me first."

"I wouldn't have let that happen," Ron said forcefully.

"Ron, it wouldn't have been your fault. You couldn't control what was happening, being locked down in that cellar."

"I would have fucking murdered that scum before he touched you, Hermione." Ron looked repulsed at the thought of Greyback touching her, which made her think of something else.

"I was worried if it happened, and I somehow survived… and you somehow had feelings for me… that you… that you wouldn't…"

Ron's face turned from fury to concern. "What? That I wouldn't what?"

"You wouldn't… want me anymore, in that way. That I would be… spoiled for you."

Ron's face crumpled, and she thought she saw tears in his eyes. "Hermione, nothing could ever happen to you to make you spoiled for me. Anything in your past, it doesn't matter. I would still want to be with you, because... it's you."

"Okay," she replied quietly, wanting to believe that if the worst had happened it would have been true.

All of the sudden, there was a pounding on the door.

"Hello!? What's going on in there!?" A male voice on the other side of the door yelled. It sounded like the concierge she had spoken to when they had checked in.

Hermione shot up, gasping in horror. "Ron! We forgot to silence the room!"

Ron's face fell, and he could not hide his worried features from her; he looked uneasy. "Fuck. You stay here. I'll handle this."

"What exactly are you going to say, Ron? People obviously heard a woman screaming."

"I'll… tell him it was nothing. Nothing's wrong... " Even as he said it, she could tell he knew it was a rubbish explanation.

The knocking on the door was getting louder and more constant. "Open this door right now, or I'll be forced to call the police!"

"Come on," she whispered harshly, jumping off the bed and forcing herself to walk toward the door. Ron caught up and walked ahead of her, and during their journey to the door she hastily rubbed at her cheeks, trying to erase the evidence of her tears.

Ron hesitantly opened the door, and the man on the other side took one glance at the two of them and looked furiously concerned.

"Mate, everything is fine, so-" Ron began.

"Fine? Sir, guests complained of a woman screaming! Now I can see that it is true!" The man said angrily, gesturing to Hermione.

Ron's eyes narrowed. "She's fine. We're fine. You can go."

"No, I'm afraid I'm going to have to call the police. I cannot leave you alone with her!"

Ron looked furious at the man's insinuation that he had done something to hurt Hermione. "This is my girlfriend, you tosser! What the fuck are you saying!?"

" _Confundo_ ," Hermione whispered shakily. Ron turned and looked surprised to see her with her wand pointed at the muggle in the doorway. The man had adopted a confused expression and just stood there, swaying on the spot.

"Good thinking, Hermione. Why didn't I think of that?" Ron asked.

She merely nodded, feeling terrible that she had just used magic on an unsuspecting muggle. She took another deep breath, not even wanting to inform Ron about what she was going to do. He would try to talk her out of it; insist that he could do it. However, she was the best at memory spells.

" _Obliviate_ ," she whispered.

Very suddenly, she was inside of the man's mind, picking through his memory from the past ten minutes. She saw him downstairs, answering many calls from concerned guests, and erased it. Then, she saw him riding the elevator upstairs, and felt his feelings of worry and anxiousness. She erased that as well. Finally, she saw his view of her and Ron; Ron's menacing looking face and her frightened tear streaked face. She felt his obvious concern for her. She erased it, and replaced it with a strong desire to inform all of the guests that all was well; what they had heard had simply been a horror movie with the volume turned up too loud.

The man turned abruptly and walked away. Ron quickly shut the door, but she continued to stare where the muggle had stood.

"Hermione?" Ron asked, but even though she knew he was right next to her, his voice sounded very far away. "Hermione, love?"

Hermione stood rooted to the spot, unable to turn her head to look at him. Her face felt wet, and she realized that she had started to cry all over again. She spun away from him and rushed toward the bathroom door, slamming it shut and locking it for good measure.

Hermione continued to gasp in short breaths, feeling a steady stream of tears fall down her face. She placed her hands on the sink and leaned over, bending her elbows slightly and willing herself not to vomit.

"Hermione? Are you okay? Please, let me in!" Ron called from the other side of the door.

"Leave me alone, Ron!" She sobbed.

"Hermione, please just let me in! I'm so sorry that you had to-"

"Go away!" She screamed, then clamped her mouth shut instantly, surprised at how malicious she sounded.

Ron's knocking on the other side of the door ceased, and suddenly the silence was even more dreadful.

Hermione stared at herself in the mirror, not recognizing the girl in the reflection. This girl looked terrified and hopeless. She had wide eyes and a sickly pale face, and her hair was stuck to the sweat on her forehead. Hermione gasped, wondering if this was the face that Ron saw every night when he woke her from a nightmare. Then, her stomach betrayed her, and she turned, rushing to the toilet and reaching it just in time before vomiting violently.

Suddenly, Ron was behind her and holding her hair back, as she continued to empty the contents of her stomach.

"How did you get in here?" She choked out, still gagging.

"I am a wizard, aren't I?"

"Get out of here, Ron. You don't need to see this," she bit back, not in the mood for one of his jokes.

Ron only held her hair tighter and rubbed her back gently.

She shut the lid of the toilet and flushed it, then sat back on the cool marble floor. Ron's presence behind her was still very apparent, and she remained staring ahead, anxious as to what he could be thinking.

"Would you like to clean your teeth?" He asked, and she turned to look at him, surprised that had been the first thing he had to say.

"Um...yes. Of course," she replied.

He stood up, and she was afraid he had finally come to his senses; that her nonsensical behavior had scared him off. However, he was back rather quickly, with her pink toothbrush in his hand.

"Here you go," he said, looking at her with love in his eyes. She froze, shocked that he was still talking to her after she had screamed at him so horribly.

"Thank you," she said quietly, accepting her tooth brush. He nodded, then turned and walked out of the bathroom.

Her eyes watered again, and she forced herself to walk to the sink and brush her teeth, while trying not to cry. She couldn't stand the thought of Ron being angry with her. Hesitantly, she walked out of the bathroom, expecting him to be laying back down on the bed with his back to her, or worse; sleeping on the sofa.

Instead, he was leaning up against the headboard, staring at her with concern. "You alright, love? I'm sorry you had to do that. It's my fault, really; should have remembered to do the spells."

Hermione sputtered, unable to hide her shock. She didn't know what to address first; the fact that he wasn't angry with her, or that he blamed himself for not casting the spells.

"No, Ron, I'm sorry! I was so horrible to you!" She cried, settling on apologizing to him first.

His brow furrowed. "What?"

"I yelled at you! I told you to go away! You must think I'm a-"

"Woah, Hermione! I don't think anything! The only thing I'm angry about is that you had to obliviate him! I didn't want you to go through that again…"

"Even so, that doesn't give me the excuse to-"

Ron interrupted her with a sigh and rolled his eyes, and to her surprise and slight annoyance he began to chuckle. "Just come here, sweetheart," he said between chuckles. He held open his arms for her, and she couldn't stop herself from diving into them.

"I don't want you to think I'm some sort of harpy, Ron. It's just ...I didn't think I would have to do that again for a very long time; maybe even never again…"

"I don't think that. I never have any bad thoughts about you, Hermione. Honestly. I wish you would have let me do it, though."

She shot him doubtful look.

"What? You know I think would never think that of you!"

"No, the spell, Ron. You don't even know how to perform memory spells, unless I seriously underestimated the amount of hours you spent studying for Charms…"

Ron sighed. "Alright, alright. You have me there. We could have figured out another way, though!"

"It's okay, Ron. I'm fine now," she replied, trying to make herself sound believable.

"Don't lie to me, Hermione. That couldn't have been easy for you."

"Fine! It wasn't! I feel like a terrible person for once again using magic on a muggle without their consent, but what choice did we have!? At least it didn't take as long as my parents did! I had to spend a few hours making sure there was no trace of me left in their minds; that every memory of their life with me was erased…"

Ron frowned. "I feel like such a complete prick that I didn't realize how upset you were last summer. I mean, I know we hugged when you got to the burrow, but that wasn't enough. I looked at it as the best thing that could have happened, because you saved them. I just thought you were crying so much because you're a girl."

"You did help me, Ron. And anyway, it's not as if you had an obligation to do anything to cheer me up-"

"Rubbish! I was your best friend! I mean, I still am, right?" He asked, glancing at her.

"Of course you are," she replied.

He smiled. "Good. You know you're mine too," he yawned as he maneuvered his body to lay down.

"I know," she said quietly, following him and curling up against his side.

"Do you feel better?" He asked.

"Yes. Much better, actually," she replied, laying her head against his chest and smiling.

Ron was silent for a few seconds. "Sometimes I wish we could stay in these types of moments forever, ya know? When you're happier and just laying next to me or sitting on my lap. Guess that's not too realistic though."

"Maybe… eventually… the happy moments will outweigh the sad moments one day. Then, we won't have to wish so badly to stay in the happy moment, because most of them will be happy anyway," she murmured, hoping that one day it would be true.

"That's brilliant. Did I ever tell you you're bloody brilliant, Hermione?" Ron asked drowsily.

"You might have mentioned it once or twice."

"I'll have to remember to tell you more often," he yawned.

She wiggled against his grasp, wanting to cast the spells before he fell asleep and had her in a locked embrace.

"Where are you going? Don't go away," he said sleepily.

"I have to do the spells."

"Already did 'em when you were in the bathroom. Just c'mere," he said, grasping her waist and pulling her down on top of him. His overwhelming strength caused her to smack against his chest none too softly, and she huffed in discomfort.

"Sorry," he mumbled. "Just wanted you to cuddle with me."

Hermione smiled. "It's alright," she said, kissing his scruffy cheek.

"Sorry about the beard. I'll shave tomorrow."

"You don't have to. I think it's rather… manly."

Ron nodded in response.

"I especially enjoyed it tonight when you were… um..."

Suddenly, Ron's eyes snapped open and he was wide awake again, grinning at her. "Oh, is that right?"

She blushed. "Yes."

"So what you're saying is you liked the feeling of my beard up against your-"

"Do not say anything vulgar, Ron!" She shouted, smacking his chest.

Ron merely chuckled. "You're a dirty girl," he said to her. This was the second time he had made that assertion.

"Ron! I am not!"

"It's okay, love. I won't tell anyone, I promise. It will be our little secret."

She let out an exasperated sigh. "Fine. But don't tell anyone!"

"Wouldn't dream of it," Ron replied, sounding sleepy again.

She picked up his large arm and read the time on his watch. "We have to catch the next portkey in three hours."

"M'kay…" Ron muttered.

"I'm serious, Ron! We have to stay on schedule! No sleeping in!"

Ron did not respond, as he was already asleep. She sighed, and made herself comfortable against his warmth.


	45. Chapter 45

They awoke to the chime of the alarm on Ron's watch, and she promptly jumped out of bed and began to ready herself for the day. Ron, on the other hand, continued to lay in bed, moaning and groaning about how it was too early to get up.

"Come have a lie in with me for another few minutes. We have plenty of time," Ron pleaded.

She gave him a disapproving look. "No, Ronald, we need to stay on schedule."

"We have more than an hour, Hermione! I don't know why you set my watch so bloody early," he mumbled.

"Get up, Ron," she called from the bathroom, where she was now brushing her teeth.

"Come on! I'll make it worth your while," he said suggestively.

The proposition was tempting. Another round of what they had done last night seemed almost too good to pass up. However, she held strong. "Absolutely not!" She called, trying to sound affronted.

"Fine, I'm up!" Ron yelled, and she heard him clunking around the room on the other side of the wall.

When both of them were dressed and she had righted all of the furniture she had knocked over the previous night, they left the luxurious hotel room and made their way down to the front desk to check out.

When they got into the elevator, Ron's eyes lit up. "Can I press the button?" He asked eagerly. Hermione eyed him in mirth, then nodded her head as she hid a giggle behind her hand. "Er, which one is it?" He asked. She pointed to the ground floor button and he eagerly pressed it, then smiled when the doors closed and they descended down to the lobby.

The concierge at the front desk was the same man from last night, who smiled at them when they walked up to the desk.

"Did you enjoy your stay, Mr. and Mrs. Smith?" He asked politely as he read their fake name off of the muggle computer. Of course, Kingsley had gone and given them the most common name in all of Britain. He was nothing if not methodical.

She stared at the muggle, somehow surprised that he did not remember them from last night. Why should she be? She knew her spellwork was superb, but it still made her uncomfortable that she had so easily and successfully tampered with this man's mind.

Ron answered for them. "Er, yeah! Had a great time, the wife and I!" He said enthusiastically, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. Hermione merely tentatively nodded in response.

"Thank you for staying with us," the man said warmly, and she was left to feel even guiltier over the magic she had used against him.

Ron nodded, then tugged her toward the door. "Alright, where are we off to?" He asked.

"What?" She asked, still thinking about the muggle. "Oh, um, we need to follow these directions to a playground near here. The portkey is going to be a shoe. It will be down a path that leads into a hiking trail," she said absently, and began to walk at a brisk pace. She lead the two of them through winding streets and alleyways, following Kingsley's directions exactly. She glanced down at Ron's hand and saw he had his wand drawn inside of his sleeve, and was looking around them with caution.

"Okay… this should be it," she said, turning a corner and hoping to see a playground. Sure enough, there it was. She spotted a sign pointing to the hiking trail and motioned for Ron to follow her. They walked along the trail for about ten minutes, scouring the ground for a shoe. Hermione began to become anxious, and hastily grabbed Ron's wrist to check the time. It read 7:50 A.M., and she became nervous, as the portkey was set to leave at 8 o'clock on the dot.

"There!" Ron exclaimed, and her eyes followed to where his finger was pointing. Sure enough, there was a shoe, just off the path of the trail. She walked up to it and examined it, incase it was just an ordinary muggle shoe. However, before she got very close she could tell it was magical; could feel the magic radiating off of it. She picked it up and grinned at Ron, and he grinned back.

"We'll be in Australia in-," he paused and checked his watch "-five minutes."

She smiled again, unable to believe they were finally going to be in Australia; she would be in the same country as her parents. Ron grabbed one end of the shoe and together they stood in silence in the woods, waiting for the portkey to take them to the place where she could finally start searching for her mother and father…

Hermione glanced down at Ron's watch and read the time as 7:59. She took a deep breath, preparing herself to be pulled. The wait was taking much longer than what she estimated a minute would be.

8 o'clock came and went, and the portkey did not pull them into an illuminating glow. She held on for another minute, unable to believe that it was not working.

"How could we have missed the portkey!? It was supposed to be departing from here at 8:00 A.M. Singapore time! Oh no, what did I do..." She exclaimed, re-reading their itinerary for the hundredth time. She knew she could not be wrong. She had the whole thing memorized in case they somehow lost their belongings.

"There has to be some type of mistake… there's no way you fucked this up, Hermione," said Ron.

She ran her hands over her face, trying to think of their next move. They were now stuck in Singapore, without enough muggle money to afford another night in a hotel. They would have to owl Kingsley, but where would they find an owl right now? It was times like these that she wished wizards used telephones.

Just then, a hoot could be heard off in the distance, and she thought that she must have imagined it. However, when she scoured the sky, which she just realized was becoming more and more grey by the minute, an owl could be seen flying toward them.

"See, Hermione? I told you you didn't fuck anything up. That must be from Kingsley," Ron said, pointing at the bird that was flying closer and closer to them by the second.

"I hope so," she murmured. No one else knew of their position right now, so it better have been Kingsley.

The owl swooped down and dropped a letter in her hand, then perched itself on a branch of one of the many trees, looking at her expectantly. She ripped it open, and was relieved to see Kingsley's handwriting.

"What? Oh bloody hell, what does it say?" Ron inquired uneasily.

"It's says there's been a mistake. The Singapore Ministry official who was supposed to arrange this portkey set it for tomorrow morning at 8 A.M, instead of today," she answered as her eyes scoured the letter.

Ron's eyebrows furrowed in anger. "What? That's fucking terrible! After all we've done for them, they can't even get a fucking portkey right!?"

"Ron! Don't shout! We don't know who may be in hearing range!" She whispered harshly. She didn't want a random muggle hiking through the forest to hear someone yelling about Ministry officials and portkeys.

"I'll bloody well shout if I want to, Hermine! These bloody wankers at the Ministry… I bet they did this on purpose just to fuck with us!"

"Ron! How could you say such a thing? They're helping us!"

"Kingsley's helping us, Hermione. Don't forget that a good lot of them want us banned from the place, not to mention they've cut Dad's wages!"

She froze, cringing at those reminders. As she was thinking of what to say next, suddenly a loud clap of thunder filled the air. A strong wind picked up and blew her already messy hair even more messily around her face. Rain began to pour down.

"Fuck! I couldn't even manage to get you to fucking Australia! Now we're stuck in fucking Singapore in the middle of nowhere and it's fucking raining!" Ron shouted into the wind.

"Oh stop, Ron! It's not your fault this happened!" She shouted back. She was sick of him always putting himself down. The rain began to soak her clothes and the wind picked up even more, making her shiver. Ron didn't answer her. She couldn't tell if he was ignoring her, or if the storm was masking her voice.

Hermione wrestled her arm into her beaded bag and fumbled around until she found what she was looking for. With a grunt, she pulled the tent out of the bag, and reached for her wand in her pocket to pitch it. Ron glanced at the tent uneasily. He didn't seem to want to enter. She thought about it and realized she felt the same.

"We have to go in, Ron! We can't stay out here!" She shouted over a roar of thunder. Lightening lit up the sky, and she saw the illuminated features of his face; pale and uneasy.

He reluctantly nodded, and opened the tent flap for her to enter first. She grabbed the portkey and walked inside. When both of them were in he shut the flap, and they were shielded from the storm. The loud sound of rain beating down onto the tent filled her ears.

She glanced around, and the scene made her feel uneasy. It was exactly how she remembered they had left it, down to the hairbrush she had left on the table next to her bed and the arrangement of the unmade sheets on Ron's cot. It was almost as if she had walked back into the horror that was the past year of her life. She walked over to her cot and sat down gently, suddenly very overwhelmed.

"How did you even get this thing back?" Ron muttered under his breath as he walked around the tent with his wand drawn, looking under the beds and in the loo. She realized he was checking to make sure no one was in here. It was probably an unnecessary precaution, but the thought of him being so determined to protect the two of them comforted her.

"Your father had asked me what had come of it, and I told him where we had been when we abandoned it. He and Bill made a little trip to find it. He said he didn't want any of our possessions or information falling into the wrong hands. It's been in the shed for the past few weeks but I took it again just incase..." she trailed off.

Ron nodded. "Okay, you stay in here and get warm. I'll go do the enchantments," he said.

"What? No, I can do them with you," she replied, forcing herself to roll off of the cot and grab her wand.

"No, really Hermione, it's fine. I'll do it," Ron said, motioning for her to lay back down.

"Don't be ridiculous. If I help, we'll get it done in half the amount of time-"

"Bloody hell, Hermione! Can't you just let me be the man for once? Let me take care of you! You don't need to go outside in the freezing cold rain right now! I want to do it for you!" Ron exclaimed.

"Excuse me, Ron? As I've told you time and time again, I don't expect special treatment just because I'm a girl! And I wasn't aware I was emasculating you so much," she scoffed.

Ron sighed. "That's not what I meant."

"Well, then what do you mean by my not letting you be the man?" She asked in annoyance.

Ron sighed again. "In case you haven't noticed, Hermione, things are different than the last time we were in this tent. You're my girlfriend now, and I want to do these kind of things for you. Honestly."

"I won't pretend to be a helpless damsel in distress just to sooth your ego, Ron."

"That's not what I meant! I bloody well know that you didn't even need me to come with you on this trip! You're brilliant enough to have done it on your own! But I wanted to come to help you in anyway that I could, because… I just want to make you happy… and even if I can only help by doing the enchantments… then that's better than nothing…" Ron said, trailing off quietly.

Hermione sighed, realizing that for the first time in a while she had started a pointless row with Ron. She thought she had been learning how to pick her battles when it came to him, but maybe she still had a lot to learn. Was it really that big of a deal if she let him feel manly from time to time? It's not as if it would affect her too badly one way or the other, but it seemed to make him happy.

"Alright. Thank you. I'll be in the shower," she said.

Ron looked shocked. "What?"

"I said thank you, Ron. I'll be in the shower getting warm."

Ron merely stared at her as she gathered her toiletries. "Are you serious? You're not going to fight me on this for another ten minutes?"

"No, I'm not," she replied with an air of casualty, acting as though her refusal to row with him was a normal occurrence.

"Okay...I'll be back soon…" she turned to see that he was smiling at her.

Hermione smiled back at him as he strolled out of the tent, still sporting a look of shock on his face. She walked to the loo door, and stepped inside, glancing around at the tiny room. She had forgotten how small it was in here; there wasn't even enough room for two people to stand inside. She stripped her wet clothes off and turned the shower on, letting the water run until it was warm, then adding a heating charm for good measure to make it almost scalding hot.

She stood underneath the stream of water for while, until her shivering had subsided. Once the discomfort of the cold was gone, her mind began to wander. She thought of how many times over the past year she had stood and showered in this very spot, elated and bashful over the fact that Ron was clomping around in the kitchen on the other side of the door. More than once, she had pleasured herself to the thought of him while in here, especially after the sexual tension between the two of them had become so great that she just couldn't take it anymore.

She emerged from the shower and donned a set of warm clothes, then ventured over to her old cot and tentatively crawled under the blanket. She gazed up at the mesh ceiling, and tried not to think of how many nights she had spent laying in this very position, crying from hopelessness and hunger.

Ron walked back into the tent, and was more drenched in water than she had ever thought humanly possible. His teeth were chattering, but he still gave her a smile.

"Ron! Oh goodness, you'll surely catch a cold now!" She exclaimed, jumping up and venturing over to him. "You need to get out of these clothes right away!" She asserted, pulling at his jumper.

He shot her a grin. "I don't mind if you undress me, Hermione. Go right ahead," he smirked.

She slapped his arm for what felt like the hundredth time in the past few days. "Stop, Ron! I'm serious! Go get in a warm shower right now! I'll make you some tea," she ordered as she hastily brushed his wet fringe off of his forehead.

"Alright, alright," he mumbled, journeying to the loo.

She set about opening the drawer in which they had kept the kettle, and sure enough it was there, right where she had left it. As she bustled about the small kitchen, her thoughts once again began to wander. They were a whole day off schedule now, and she hoped this was not a bad omen of things to come. She had come to realize that a whole day could sometimes be either the shortest and most insignificant amount of time, or the difference between life and death. Now, she would be a whole day behind from seeing her parents again. Ron would return to his grieving family one day later...

Ron walked out of the loo in dry clothes, and she turned to him. "Ron!" She gasped.

"What!?" He exclaimed, jumping and drawing his wand, then looking all around.

"We forgot to visit George again before we left! Oh no, we promised we would. What must he think of us? I don't want this to make him even more upset…"

Ron sighed, looking relieved, and then shrugged. "Eh, he'll be okay. I reckon he was too drunk to even remember we said that."

"Oh no, but what if he wasn't? What if he was counting on us to come back? Maybe we could write him… just to let him know we're thinking of him…"

"Hermione, it's fine."

"No, Ron! It's not!" She yelled back at him.

Ron looked surprised at her outburst. "Hey, what's going on?"

"George needed our help! I know how he feels; in a way," she added quietly.

Ron just stared at her. "I… I know you're sad about… Fred. But I didn't think you were this upset…"

"Of course I'm upset! I loved Fred!" She exclaimed.

Ron looked panicked. "What do you mean? You… you had feelings for Fred? I thought you were always rather annoyed by the twins and their pranks…"

She sighed. "No, Ron. I mean I loved him like a brother. I love everyone in your family. I love George too, and I know how it feels to go backward instead of making progress. I know how it feels to slip back into something horrible in your mind… to feel like you'll never find a way out…"

Ron's eyes widened in understanding. Then, he got a determined look on his face. "Hermione… listen to me. If it's really that bad in your head, you need to get help. I know I said I would drop it for now, but if you're saying it's just getting worse and worse… I can't sit back and let you suffer."

"Ron-" she began.

"No!" He interrupted her. "I'm not going to let it go! If you hate me for it, then… it's worth it for me if it makes you get some help with this."

"I could never hate you," she said quietly.

They both stared at each other in silence. The wind whistled outside, and rain beat against the roof of the tent. A draft swept through the room, and she shivered. Ron noticed, but for once he did not open his arms to offer his love and warmth. He continued to stare at her; challenging her.

"I don't care what the results are, Hermione," he said with quiet confidence.

Hermione continued to stare at him in pain. He sounded confident now, but how could one know how they would react in a situation until forced into it? Ron had told her of his desire to marry her someday, but were there no exceptions to his declaration? What if she could not give him the children he had spoken of with such joy in his eyes; the ones who would play with Harry and Ginny's kids. What if she slowly slipped into insanity, and before her 30th birthday was doomed to the same fate as Neville's parents; to waste away in the psych ward of St. Mungo's. Would Ron marry her then? Would he hold her hand as she lay in a hospital bed, with no clue as to who he was? Would he love her, even if she was no longer herself?

"Ron...what if I turn into someone who isn't me anymore?" She asked meekly.

"What do you mean? You'll always be you."

"What about… what happened to Neville's parents…"

Ron grimaced, and she could tell he had caught on. "Hermione…that's not going to happen to you," he asserted, almost as if he could not admit to the possibility.

"It could."

"It won't."

"But what if it did? I wouldn't expect you to give up your life for me."

"No! Hermione, you'll always be you! I mean, I know we're going to get older and everything, but I'm kinda excited for that; to have the chance to live out our lives. But you'll always be my Hermione."

The modern woman in her had an immediate reflex to say that she was not his; he did not own her. However, she stopped herself, knowing he did not mean it that way. Because she _was_ his, and he was hers. She had given him her heart, and he had given his in return. With that thought, her mind was made up.

"Okay," she whispered.

"What?" Ron asked.

"Okay, I'll get help for this. When we get back."

Ron's eyes lit up. "That's brilliant, Hermione!"

"Yes…" she murmured. She had gone and promised him something, now. She could not take back her word. The thought made her feel content and apprehensive all at once.

Then, Ron's arms were wrapped around her, and the uneasiness she had felt due to their presence in the tent suddenly evaporated. This tent was just a space; an inanimate object meant to shelter its inhabitants. She would not allow it to have so much power over her. Ron was right. She would always be Hermione, and he would always be Ron; it would not matter where they were, or what they were doing.

"You don't have to always be strong for me, you know. I know you're still grieving the loss of Fred," she murmured into his neck. She could tell her talk of Fred had upset him.

"Don't worry about me, I'm fine-"

"Don't lie to me, Ron," she said, mimicking a phrase he had said to her many times over the past month.

Ron sighed shakily. "Okay, yeah. I reckon that was a lie. I still miss him like crazy, Hermione. It's like there's this… this gash right in my heart. I can't think about him without wanting to cry. I know I said I'm beginning to accept it, and that's true. But sometimes the thought of accepting it scares me even more than being angry about it. At least when I was angry and in denial… I felt something. When it finally becomes normal for us to to talk about Fred being gone without someone bursting into tears, what will I feel like then? I don't want to forget about my brother. Every day that goes by is one day closer to it being normal."

She froze, trying to process everything that Ron had just said, and also to not make an obvious display of disbelief about him sharing so much of his feelings.

"Oh Ron…" she whispered, pulling him closer and kissing his forehead. Ron sniffed, and hastily wiped his eyes. "Ron… you'll never forget about Fred. I promise. He'll always be in your heart."

"Sometimes I want to forget about him though, Hermione. How awful is that? Every moment since I saw them put him in the ground has been hell, and I wish I didn't have that image in my mind. I think about that day all the time; it's like I can't get it out of my head. Pretty selfish, isn't it; to not want to remember my own brother's funeral."

"That's not selfish… it's…" she trailed off, searching for the right word.

"It's selfish," Ron said with certainty. "I'd rather forget about the service dedicated to Fred's memory than be forced to remember how horrible it was."

Hermione paused, recalling the day of Fred's funeral. She had seen a lot of horrible things in the past year; pain and suffering and murder. Families torn apart, homes destroyed. She had felt pain herself; starvation and torture. Her heart had been broken.

After all of this, the agony in the Weasley family's eyes that dreary afternoon had somehow made everything seem so small in comparison. Maybe it was because she could hear the wails of a mother who had lost a child. Maybe it was because of the undeserved guilt that had been so devastatingly evident on Harry's face. Maybe it was because Fred's lifeless body so closely resembled Ron, with his ginger hair and fair freckled skin, and she shuddered at the thought that it could just as easily have been him. Maybe it was because she herself had come to think of the Weasley family as her own.

But most evidently, it was because of Ron's disposition, and how she had never seen so much agony consume him. That day had marked a lot of firsts for them. It was the first time she had heard him sob; loud, gasping, and weeping crying, instead of the few quiet tears he had shed at Dumbledore's funeral. It was the first time she had seen him vomit something other than slugs; he had turned and retched into a bush the second he saw the coffin.

Mostly, it was the first time she had looked at him, really looked at him, and grasped what he must be feeling. For so long, she had tried to decode Ron; to pick him apart and translate him just as she did her ruins homework. All throughout Hogwarts she had never known exactly what he had been thinking, or whether or not he felt the same kind of love as she did for him. That day, however, she had felt as if their hearts were connected. For the first time, it was all very obvious, and it was horrifying.

"Hermione?" Ron's voice disrupted her thoughts. He was looking at her with apprehension, as if he thought she was going to agree with him.

She had had enough of this. If he got to badger her with constant reminders that the worst things she thought about herself were not true, then she could do the same to him.

"Ron, I don't ever want to hear you say that again." Ron began to object, but she shushed him. "No. You're not selfish. You're not a horrible brother, or anything other negative thing you might be thinking. You're my hero, okay? So don't sell yourself short."

Ron just stared at her, and she thought she saw tears pooling in his eyes. "Really? I'm your hero?"

"Of course. I've told you this before."

"Well yeah, but I thought you were just saying it to make me feel better…" Of course he hadn't believed her. Hadn't he confessed to her that he had always seen himself as the sidekick?

"I would never lie to you, Ron."

"I reckon I know that," Ron conceded.

The wind continued to whistle outside and the rain continued to pour down, but it did not disturb her as greatly as it once had. So many things were wind and rain; disturbances, but nothing so horrible that they would do permanent damage. She supposed Harry was not the only one with a scar now; they all carried both physical and mental permanent reminders of the horror they had been subjected to. Or, perhaps it was more like open, fresh wounds, that had yet to close up and scar eventually, then continue to fade with time.

As she looked around the place that had been her home for the better part of a year, she remembered everything that had led to those scars. How could she not, with all of the turmoil that she, Ron, and Harry had been subjected to in here? But now, the memories felt farther away than they ever had. She was beginning to accept everything that had transpired in here, and anywhere else in the world that had shown her a horrific time. If she was feeling like this just one month after the war had ended, maybe she could heal almost completley one day. Maybe getting help could aid her even more in her endeaver to finally feel whole again.

"Reckon we'll be in here until tomorrow morning," Ron said, glancing at her uneasily. She could tell he thought she was uncomfortable with the situation.

"That's fine," she replied.

"Really?" Ron asked, obviously skeptical.

"Yes. As you said, things are a lot different than the last time we were in here."

She led Ron over to the table and poured him his tea, and nothing had ever felt so wonderfully normal. The mission was still an ever present obsticale in the back of her mind, but right now it felt marvelous to sit down to tea with her boyfriend.

* * *

 _Author's note: I wanted this chapter to touch on the more dark and dreary aspects of their inner thoughts and fears. I feel like the tent represented such hopelessness and despair for the trio, and in a way, Hermione and Ron still have these feelings. Thank you all for being patient with me; I have had exams upon exams for the past few weeks. (I have been trying to chanel my inner Hermione)._


	46. Chapter 46

_Author's note: Hello, all of you lovely people! I hope this chapter was not too long of a wait. I think about you guys and this story everyday and I hate it how I don't have a lot of time to work on it. Thanks to my loyal followers and new people as well- the more the merrier!_ _I've put a lot of my heart into this one, so I hope you like it._

* * *

Her day spent with Ron in the tent went wonderfully, which made her marvel at how much of a contrast it was from most of her days spent in here last year. It thrilled her; to be able to sit at the table and eat a hearty meal, to smile while playing a game of chess with Ron without worrying about his built up irritability and resentment, to be able to freely express her impassioned attraction to him without worrying whether or not he reciprocated the feelings.

"Checkmate," Ron declared, disturbing her train of thought.

"What!?" Hermione sputtered, looking down at the board in disbelief. She thought she surely had him this time. Her queen moaned as it was smashed to pieces.

"Checkmate," Ron said again, this time with a bit of arrogance.

"No, but I was going to…"

"What? Make this move?" He asked, picking up her bishop, which wriggled in his hand in annoyance, and moving it diagonally across the board. "Then, you thought I would make this move-" he moved his queen "-and then you could do this," he grasped her knight and used it to gently tap his own queen, who refused to budge, as she seemed to be intent on celebrating the win.

"Yes! I thought I finally had you!" she cried.

"Not even close," Ron said with a grin.

"Oh, bugger it all!" she shouted, and he raised his eyebrows in slight surprise at her choice of words. "Alright, so what will it be?" she asked. They had agreed that whoever won could dare the other person to do something.

"Hmm…." Ron muttered, glancing around the tent. He seemed to be intent on putting a lot of thought into it.

"Don't drag it out, Ronald. Just pick something!"

"Alright," he replied. "I dare you to kiss me."

Hermione rolled her eyes, not all that surprised at his request. She leaned across the chessboard and cupped his cheek in her hand, then placed a quick kiss on his lips and pulled away.

Ron looked at her in exasperation. "That wasn't quite what I had in mind, Hermione."

"Sorry, rules are rules, Ronald," she replied primly as she began to pack up the chess set.

"I should have known you would get all technical about it. Fine. Give me one more shot to be more specific?" he pleaded.

She pretended to ponder his request. "Well… alright. But just one more chance."

He grinned. "I dare you to come over here, sit down on my lap, and snog me senseless. With tongue," he added as an afterthought.

She giggled and turned, walking slowly around the coffee table until she reached him, then sat down on his lap in a position that made her legs drape over one side of the chair. "Like this?" she asked, crushing her lips hard against his and thrusting her tongue into his mouth. He moaned in appreciation, and clutched her closer to him.

"Alright, Ron. I've completed my dare. Now, if you don't mind I'd like to get ready for bed. I want to be up early tomorrow." Part of the reason was because she did not want any chance of missing the portkey, but the other part was because she wanted to surprise Ron by making him breakfast.

"We don't have to snog. We can just sit here like this," said Ron, as he squeezed her tighter.

"Let me get my pajamas on and brush my teeth, then we can snog all you like."

Very quickly, she was being pushed off of his lap and toward the loo. "Alright, alright. Hurry up, then!" he exclaimed.

Hermione giggled when he continued to gently nudge her as she made a mock declaration of standing her ground. She planted both feet firmly on the floor and crossed her arms over her chest in fake stubbornness.

"Hermione…" he said in a warning tone. When she did not move, he placed his hands at her waist and picked her up in the same exact position she had been standing. He held her at arm's length as she crossed her own arms even tighter against her chest and furrowed her brow into the line she knew he had referred to as 'cute'.

He walked over to the loo door and placed her down. "There you go. See? I saved you the trouble of walking over here. Now go on, in you go." He opened the door and picked her up again, placing her on the other side and then shutting it.

She turned to look at herself in the mirror and almost didn't recognize the grin she was sporting. It had been so long since she had allowed herself to have fun, and flirting with Ron was just about as fun as it got.

Hermione reached into her beaded bag, which had been sitting on the sink, and pulled out a few pairs of pajamas. She used her wand to levitate them in the air, and surveyed her choices, trying to decide which one Ron would like the most. She settled on the tightest and laciest pair. After all, she had promised him a good snogging session, hadn't she?

Once her nightly routine had been completed, she ventured out of the tiny room and back into the main area of the tent. Ron was lying on her cot, clicking his deluminator on and off. She watched him disappear and then reappear into her line of vision as the bulbs of light in the tent flew toward him and then away again.

"Ron?" she spoke up.

He turned to look at her, and his mouth dropped open. "Bloody hell, Hermione. What are you trying to do to me?"

"What?" she asked in fake ignorance.

"You know what you're doing to me, woman. You just like teasing me," he said playfully.

"I'm not a tease if I follow through on what I promised. Now, go wash up and we can start following through on it," she suggested.

Ron jumped out of bed and rushed toward the loo door, leaving his deluminator on her cot. Curiously, she picked it up to get a better look at it. She had never had the chance to really study it in detail.

She clicked it, and gasped when all of the light in the room was sucked into the tiny device in her hand. Even though she had seen Ron use it many times, it was an entirely different experience using it herself. She felt powerful when the light rushed toward her; could feel the magic of it all. It felt wonderful; loving and warm. The exact opposite of what the locket had made her feel, she realized.

Suddenly, she got an idea. She hoped it would work, because if it did Ron would absolutely love it. She grabbed her wand and conjured one of her little blue flames of light, then clicked the deluminator to capture it in the device. She held her breath, then clicked it again.

Blue light shot out from every angle, replacing every candle, lantern, and electric light she had placed around the tent. The tent was illuminated in a brilliant blue glow. It looked beautiful.

Just then, Ron walked out of the loo, and gasped. "What the-? Hermione, how did you do so many blue flames so quick?"

"I didn't. I just did one. This took care of the rest," she said, and clicked the deluminator twice to capture the blue lights and then send them back again.

"You are fucking brilliant," he breathed with a smile.

She smiled back, then crawled into her cot and underneath the blanket. Ron had turned to fuss with with something in the kitchen, and when he turned back around he didn't see where she had gone.

"Hermione, where are you?" he asked as he walked closer to her.

"I'm right here, darling," she replied, pausing at the term of endearment. She had never called him that before. The ambiance of the blue glow seemed to make it slip out.

Ron seemed to like it though, because she saw him grin and walk over to her, then climb into the cot with her. His lips immediately sought hers, and all of the sudden they were kissing. She gasped, then wondered why she was so surprised. She had promised him a snogging session; of course he would want to start it as soon as possible.

They remained like that for a while. Hermione didn't know how she could ever tire of this. She had always assumed that after a while, snogging would get boring and one's lips would become quite sore, but she either didn't notice or didn't care when it came to Ron. She could kiss him for forever and still not have enough of him.

Hermione felt a wave of love for him, and suddenly she had to tell him how much she did in fact need him; because she could never lose this now that she had it.

"Ron?"

"Yeah?"

"What you said before, about me not needing you? You're wrong. I do need you."

"Rubbish, Hermione. You wouldn't have needed me for this."

"That's not true! When you're around… everything is easier," she said quietly, desperate to communicate her feelings.

When Ron was with her, everything was better. The sun shone brighter, and there was a lighter spring in her step. Ron made this world seem like a brilliant place to be, just by the way he spoke with such passion about the people he loved, and how he could find humor in almost anything. When he looked at her, she felt pretty. She could never be sure if most people called her smart just to flatter her, but Ron had convinced her of the intelligence she possessed.

"Easier? Seems to me as though I've only ever held you back," Ron replied. "Can't recall a time when I ever made things easier for you, especially when we were in here…"

"Remember last year when I was crying in here?" she asked.

"You'll have to be a little more specific, Hermione," said Ron.

She paused, realizing that she had cried many times in this tent over the past year. "At night… when Harry was on watch. When we hadn't had anything to eat in three days…"

She could see Ron's scowl in the faint glow of blue light. "Yeah," he muttered.

"Remember when you laid down with me?" she asked.

She saw his features soften. "Of course I do," he answered quietly.

"That helped me," she replied just as quietly.

 _She could picture the scene as if it had happened yesterday. She had been laying in this very cot, in the same exact position on her side, only hunched over even more and cradling her empty stomach. Hermione had thought Ron must have dozed off, and while she did not want to wake him, she couldn't help but cry; from the pain and fatigue of it all, but also from just sheer fear._

 _She wondered if the thing to get her in the end would not be a Death Eater or snatcher, but rather just plain stupidness and poor planning on her part. How had she not brought more food with them? Grant it, Ron and Harry had not thought to bring any of the things she had brought that had saved their lives thus far, but there was this nagging idea in the back of her head that it was her responsibility._

 _The locket was around her neck, and the low cut pajama shirt she wore in a feeble attempt to get Ron's attention allowed for it to slip between her breasts and rest directly on her skin, right over the scar from the curse she had taken at the Department of Mysteries._

 _Riddle added her inability to cook a proper meal to the endless list of reasons as to why Ron would never love her. How could he, really? What man would ever want to be with a woman who couldn't do something as basic as cook, especially a food enthusiast like Ron? Perhaps if she could, that would make up for her other failures. She wasn't pretty enough. She wasn't curvy enough. Her rail-thin body was useless, and now thanks to her futile attempts at scrounging up food, she couldn't even fulfill him in other ways. No wonder he had been with Lavender. Lavender had pretty hair and tight clothes that showed off her figure, and a girly spring to her step. Lavender didn't bitch and nag at him all the time; like she did. Maybe that was why he had been so mean to her... Plenty of other people at school seemed to not like her, so why should Ron be any different?_

 _He obviously was not attracted to her; probably repulsed by her now that she thought about it. She had been all but throwing herself at him and he didn't seem to care. How humiliating, to be the only girl for Merlin knew how far, and have a 17-year-old boy be uninterested in even touching her…_

 _"Hermione?" Ron had apparently shuffled over to her cot, and she peered up at him with an odd combination of loathing and lust._

 _"What, Ronald?" She sounded bitter. He flinched at her harsh tone._

 _"What's wrong?" He had looked at her with those brilliant blue eyes of his…_

 _"Oh, I don't know, Ron. I can only think of about a thousand obvious answers to that question." Her tone sounded even more malicious._

 _"Take it off," he commanded, advancing closer to her._

 _"What?" She had been momentarily confused. Her attraction to him, enhanced even more by the locket, fleetingly thought he meant her clothes._

 _"The locket. Take it off."_

 _Oh. So he didn't want to be with her like that after all. She knew it. How stupid, to even let herself think it…_

 _Ron sat down next to her on the cot, his weight dipping the mattress down even further. He gently grabbed her shoulder to steady her, then reached for the locket, and yanked it over her head._

 _Instantly, she felt one million times better and worse all at once. The nastiness of her thoughts faded, but she was suddenly much more aware of her hunger and sadness. She began to cry._

 _"Shh… It's alright. It's okay, Hermione," Ron soothed, and his over sized hand traveled from her shoulder to her hair, which he began stroking gently._

 _"I'm so hungry, Ron," she sobbed, laying back down and curling her body into a ball._

 _He continued to run his fingers through her hair. "I know, I know." He spoke with a tenderness she had never known him to possess. His touch was so loving; so gentle._

 _Now that the locket had been off of her for a few minutes, she began to wonder if maybe Ron's love for her did extend to more than friendship. Even if it was a fraction of what she felt for him, that would be more than enough for them to be together; even if it was just for the night. She wanted to know what it would be like just once; to have him touch her and be with her in a way no man ever had. They could die tomorrow, and she would have never known what it felt like to be as close to Ron as two people could ever be._

 _The words had been on the tip of her tongue. She really had been set on asking him to make love to her._

 _But suddenly, Harry clomped through the tent flap and knocked something over, swearing loudly in the process. Ron's head snapped up, and he patted her gently once more before standing up and walking over to Harry, offering to take the next watch. The absence of his weight next to her had made her feel so inexplicably empty..._

"I'm glad it made you feel better. It was killing me to see you in so much pain…" Ron's voice broke the thoughts of her memory.

"It did. More than you knew, actually. I was going to ask you to...you know," she said quietly.

Ron's brow furrowed. "What?"

"You know…"

"Hermione, I bloody well don't know, that's why I asked."

"I was going to ask you to shag me!" she shouted, put out by his incomprehension forcing her to just come out and say it so blunty.

"Oh," Ron replied, looking at her, apparently dumbfounded.

"Would you have?" She asked. She knew it was a ridiculous question. He had proven his incredible attraction to her time and time again over the past few weeks. However, there was this nagging little part of her brain that wanted proof that in that moment, it could have happened. She wanted to hear him confirm it in the very place where the most evil form of dark magic had convinced her otherwise. The locket had made her so sure it could never be true…

"Bloody hell...of course I would have, Hermione. I would have done anything you asked me to in that moment."

She nodded. Another horrible moment from the past year of her life felt lighter to bare.

He continued to stare at her. "Have I not made it clear? I'm insanely, ridiculously, madly, attracted to you. I thought you knew that."

"I do. I only had my doubts back then. The locket knew I-"

Ron hissed at the mention of the locket.

"Sorry, love. We don't have to talk about it," she said quickly.

He jerked his head from side to side. "No, it's okay. We can talk about whatever you want."

She smiled at him, touched by how he was willing to talk about something that obviously upset him for her sake. However, she suddenly did not want to waste one more moment of their time lamenting over it. That's just what Riddle would have wanted; to continue torturing his victims even after his dark magic had been destroyed.

"You know what? Let's not talk about that stupid hunk of metal. I'll be damned if I let it affect me for one more second in this tent. It did plenty of that last year," she said.

Ron grinned at her. "Yeah, fuck that thing. Also, it was a bit too girly for my taste… Hey! Maybe Voldemort was a poof, and that's why he liked it so much!"

She burst out into laughter, covering her mouth with her hand in an attempt to control her chortling. Ron grinned even wider at his success in making her laugh.

"That was one of your better jokes, Ron. Fred and George would be proud."

"Yeah, reckon they would, wouldn't they?" he said, unable to hide his pride. She noticed that he did not flinch at the mention of Fred's name. She leaned in and kissed him on the cheek in an attempt to express her approval. Maybe talking about Fred's love for jokes was one of the ways to keep his memory alive.

"You know, this is pretty much the same position we were in last year. I could prove it to you; that I meant what I said," he spoke, his voice having turned into a much less playful and much more seductive tone.

Then, he was kissing her. She responded automatically, gasping in pleasure when he slipped his tongue into her mouth and then bit her lip gently.

"Oh Ron... " she moaned, tilting her head back and allowing him to kiss down her neck. Fleetingly, she had an absurd sense of relief that Harry had in fact intterupted them last year. If she had discovered this bliss then; discovered just what she had been missing… well, it's possible that no other horcruxes would have been found, due to distraction alone.

Suddenly, her pajama top was off, and her bare chest was exposed, as she had not wore a bra to bed. Then, Ron's equally bare chest was against hers, and he grabbed her and pulled her even tighter to him.

"I think you're so beautiful, Hermione. Let me prove it to you," he muttered against her collarbone, then moved his lips lower.

"Ron… let's just… do what we've done before," she replied. He stopped kissing her breast and peered up at her.

"What? So you don't want to-"

"I do!" She shouted hastily, not wanting him to doubt her desire for him.

"Hermione, you're sending me some very mixed signals here," he muttered as he palmed her other breast in his hand.

She sighed. He had a point. "I think… I don't want our first time to be in here."

Ron stopped his advances and sat up, looking at her with concern. "Okay… are you alright? I thought you said you were fine with us being in here."

"I am."

He gave her a look of doubt, but she continued.

"I wanted to make new memories in here. Better memories," she explained.

Ron looked even more confused, so she tried to elaborate.

"I wanted to redo some of the things we got wrong in here before. I wanted to… talk to you when we sat at the table and drank tea instead of turning my back and ignoring you like I did before. To play a round of chess without throwing insults at each other… But even so, I don't know if I want to create a memory all that monumental in here. This isn't just our place… it's mine, yours, and Harry's place. Oh my, I'm sorry if I'm not making any sense…"

"So, what is our place?" Ron asked.

She pondered his question. "Your room," she said. The answer had come to her easily.

"Okay… so you're saying you want to wait until we get back to the burrow…?" Ron asked, not even sounding randy. It seemed as though he was honestly trying to follow her line of thought.

"Yes. For another reason, too. I need to finish this thing with my parents. I have to know whether or not they forgive me. Whatever it is, I just need to know it, before I'm ready…" She didn't want to take that final step with Ron until she saw this mission through. She needed to get this huge part of her life sorted out, before they became lovers in every sense of the word.

"Reckon you just gave me even more incentive to find them," Ron said with a grin.

"Oh stop it," she said, trying to act affronted.

"Nope," Ron quipped, as he lazily kissed her neck. Then, his hand was trailing down her belly and touching her lower. He turned her onto her side and spooned her from behind. "Reckon this counts as something we've already done, right?"

"Y-yes," she stuttered, having not been prepared for his touch.

"Good," he whispered, rubbing her more roughly now that he had gotten her permission.

Then, she was touching him as well. They had never done it quite like this before. Even after what he had done to her last night, this somehow felt like the most intimate thing they had ever experienced together. Maybe it was because they were both giving and receiving pleasure at the same time.

"Oh, Merlin. I love you, Hermione," Ron growled into her ear as he tugged her closer against his chest.

"I love you too. So much," she barely whispered.

The kiss he placed on the back of her neck told her he had heard it. His much larger body was tucked against her, and she could sense the sheer power of him. He used the arm that was not currently shoved down her pajama bottoms to reach under her back and lift her higher so she could turn her head and kiss him, as if she were as light as a feather. Not for the first time, she wondered exactly when he had gotten so strong.

He was becoming so good at touching her, and she hoped what she was doing felt good for him as well. Judging by his moans in her ear, she was doing something right. She could tell the signs of his approaching climax, and panted, "Wait, Ron. Let's… together," with what she hoped was a sexy voice. He nodded against her neck. "Oh, Ron… yes...right there…okay... now." He moaned in her ear when her free hand grasped his free hand and squeezed.

Feeling the same type of overwhelming pleasure at the same exact moment added another layer of passion to it all. She lay there, almost stunned at how wonderful it had been. They were both breathing heavily, trying to catch their breath, when Ron panted, "I love you, Hermione."

She giggled. "Yes, I'm aware, Ron." She assumed his declaration had been partly due to his lingering bliss.

Suddenly, Ron grabbed her and used that strength of his spin her around and look into her eyes. "No, I'm serious. I love that you let me get that close to you."

She smiled. "I know."

"I don't know if you do. It's not just about the sexual stuff, even though that _is_ brilliant. I never really… got much attention growing up. It feels good just to be able to hold you," he mumbled.

Her brow furrowed. "What do you mean, 'never got much attention'?"

"I mean…well… Mum had seven kids to take care of, didn't she? And Dad worked himself to the bone every day, so he was exhausted every night when he came home. I didn't get much one on one time with either of them. Sometimes I just wanted one of them to pick me up and hold me… The only time Mum would really focus on just one of us kids was when we got sick. She would lay with me in my bed...let me put my head on her lap while she told me a story. It was nice. I think I must have scared her for a while there, because I used to fake being sick a lot. Probably thought she had the frailest child in existence…"

Hermione didn't know how to respond. One thing that her relationship with Ron was beginning to teach her, was he certainly had more emotions than she ever thought him capable of possessing. She never would have guessed that growing up in a such big family had somehow in turn made him feel so… lonely. All these years she had thought Harry was the only one of them in desperate need of affection. It had never occured to her that Ron was longing for it as well...

"Well, I'm glad you've found some comfort in me," she replied, deciding that he probably didn't want her to pick apart and analyze every aspect of what he had shared with her.

"Me too," he replied as he reached his hand up to brush a stray curl from her face. The touch meant even more to her now that she knew what it meant to him.


	47. Chapter 47

Talking.

She could talk forever with Ron. She could talk to him until her body betrayed her and succumbed to sleep, then wake up and pick right back up where she had left off.

She never ran out of things to say, and more surprisingly, it seemed as though he didn't either. Once again, she felt a bit sheepish for underestimating his emotional capabilities. The intimacy that had grown between them over the past couple of weeks seemed to have opened a floodgate for him, and it was all she could do but stifle a giggle when his eyes lit up when talking about quidditch, or allow a tear to slip down her cheek when he spoke of Fred.

She did not know whether or not he conversed with his brothers, or Ginny, or even Harry in a similar way, but it didn't seem likely. He was showing her a side of himself that only a lover would ever have the privilege of knowing, and that thought filled her with such warmth and honor that she didn't know quite how to express her gratitude.

How was it possible that they had known each other for seven years, and yet did not know everything about each other? For instance, she never knew that he had broken his arm when he was five and tried to take one of the twins' brooms out for a ride.

He had never known of her allergy to peanuts, and when she had told him he had smiled and said, "Oh, so that's why you would never eat Mum's peanut butter pie at Christmas. I always thought that was a bit odd, seeing how bloody delicious it is."

How had they not run out of things to say at this point? She could listen to the sound of his voice for forever. She could lay here, cuddled up against his chest, for the rest of her days, and be perfectly content. She could spend her whole life talking to Ron, and it still wouldn't be enough. In fact, she knew she would spend her whole life talking to him.

She wanted to know everything there was to know about him, and then some. She wanted him to know everything about her. She wanted to to be there for him; when things got tough, and he needed someone to talk to. She wanted to laugh with him and cry with him and express every other emotion possible with him, then she wanted to do it all over again.

Hermione hadn't meant to stay awake this long; as she grabbed Ron's wrist and read his watch she realized that it was almost 4 o'clock in the morning. But once Ron had gathered her into his loving embrace and continued their conversation, sleep and time became irrelevant to her. It was too good; the way he held her, the way he spoke to her, leaning in every few minutes to kiss her gently on the forehead and brush her unruly hair away from her face. Who would want to sleep, when this was the alternative? This was better than any dream she could ever have.

But that was just it. She didn't dream anymore; not in the wonder-like way that most people did. She had nightmares, followed by night terrors. So maybe that was part of the reason as to why she had stayed awake this long; Ron usually would have insisted she get at least some sleep, but he seemed just as enthralled with her as she was with him.

He paused and glanced down at the wrist she was holding. "Bloody hell, we should get some sleep, Hermione. You need your rest."

She sighed, annoyed at herself for having brought his attention to the time. "No I don't," she replied playfully. "I need more of you."

"Oh yeah?" he asked, sounded both sleepy and amused.

"Yes," she answered, deciding to let him in on just how serious she was. "I could stay here forever, Ron," she said, burrowing her head into the crook of his neck and giving his broad torso a squeeze.

Ron's face slipped from a playful smirk to a touched smile. "I could too, ya know. I mean, if we didn't have any other responsibilities. I reckon this could be our own little world."

"No school to go to, no jobs to work, nothing to worry about, except each other…" Hermione mused quietly. She was alluding to their imminent separation. She couldn't help it; how close they were now, cuddling with every inch of their bodies pressed against each other, seemed to remind her of the drastic contrast their distance between each other would be come fall.

"Our own little world…" Ron murmured, clutching her tighter. She remembered what he had said about wanting to run away with her during the darkest days of the war; of wanting to go to a world with just the two of them.

"What did you think, when you thought of us together, in our own little world?" she asked quietly.

Ron paused for a long time, and just when she thought he was not going to answer her, he spoke. "Well, for starters, you would be there. And you would be happy, and healthy, and you wouldn't have… ever had to suffer anything, Hermione. It wouldn't have mattered where we were; I would have kept you safe."

"That sounds nice…" she murmured sleepily.

Ron nodded vigorously, obviously pleased that she agreed with him. "I would have gotten you away from everything. I could have protected you better; if we weren't in the thick of it all. Nothing bad would have happened to you, Hermione, if I had any say. Because if I did, you would have been as far away as possible from all of that mess."

"You know you couldn't have stopped me, Ron. Don't blame yourself; I can be very stubborn when I want to be."

Ron sighed. "I know. That's what I both love and hate about you. Well, not hate. I don't hate anything about you. Just strongly dislike some of your traits that manage to get you into unsafe situations."

She giggled. "Then I must have nearly given you a heart attack every single day for the past seven years, with all the stress you must have been feeling due to my stubborness."

Ron nodded in agreement. "If I start greying early, I'm blaming it on you."

She laughed again, then adopted a more serious expression. "I can't stand the thought of you being in danger either, you know."

Ron dismissed her with a wave of his hand. "It's different, Hermione."

Now, she was actually annoyed. "What do you mean?"

Ron sighed. "Look, I know you're not going to like this, but I don't care. I'm gonna to say it anyway, because it's the truth. The way I want you to be safe… the way I feel the need to protect you… it's an instinctual sort of thing. You're my girl, so I have an urge to keep you safe, and I feel like a bloody failure if I don't," he admitted.

"You think I don't feel the same way? You think I don't want to protect you?" she asked, challenging him.

"It's not the same. I don't want your protection." He backtracked when he saw the hurt look flash across her face. "No! I didn't mean that in a bad way! It's just… if it came down to it… and you protecting me meant you getting hurt in the process, that's not something I would want. That's why I asked you to leave me if we get into a bad situation and you get the chance. Don't you see it's what I would want?" Ron pleaded.

She knew their conversation in his bedroom the night before they left to go on this journey would not be the last she heard of this.

"Hermione… I can't… I can't let anything bad happen to you again. I'm your boyfriend; it's my job to protect you, now," Ron said with certainty.

"Who says that is part of the job description?" she challenged.

"I do. I say."

She turned to gently stroke his red hair, then ran her hand down his scruffy cheek. "Ron… why must you be so…"

"Stubborn? Not so easy to deal with, is it?"

"Please don't leave me…" she whispered.

Ron looked at her, shocked. "What are you talking about, Hermione? I would never leave you!"

"Yes you would. You even said so. You said you would die for me. I know you, Ron! I know you always think it's your job to fall on your sword to save everyone else! Well, if something happens to you and you leave me in this wretched world without you, I'll never forgive you!" She hadn't meant to get so angry, but she couldn't help it.

"If something happens to you, I'll never forgive _myself_ ," Ron replied quietly. "I'm so in love with you, Hermione."

"But I'm in love with you, too!"

She hadn't quite thought about this aspect of being in love. How infuriating it was, when both of you loved the other more than you loved yourself.

Neither of them spoke again. She merely buried her head even further into the crook of his neck. He rubbed his hand up and down her back.

"You protect me in other ways, Hermione. You hold my heart. You keep all my secrets. Not too many people I would trust with that, ya know," Ron said suddenly.

"Oh really? So there are others?" she asked jokingly.

Ron gazed down at her with a serious look on his face. "No. No one knows everything about me, except for you. Not even Harry."

The magnitude of what he had just said hit her, suddenly. Ron had shown her sides of himself that he had never even let their other best friend see. Admittedly, Ron was the only one she had ever truly exposed herself to; both physically and emotionally. She supposed Harry kept things from the two of them; things he only told Ginny.

"Just please, for my own sanity, try to understand what I mean," Ron interjected suddenly.

"I do," she said with certainty. "I know how much it hurts you to see me in pain, Ron. You know, when you cried at my bedside right after we had escaped, I really understood how-"

"Oh fuck, you heard that?" Ron cringed, interrupting her.

She had forgotten he did not know that. "Yes, I did."

"Fuck, I think I've cried in front of you during the past couple of months more than I've cried in my entire life combined," he said, sounding embarrassed.

"Don't worry; I liked it. Not that you were upset, but that you cared enough about me to be that upset… I mean, after they treated me like a piece of rubbish, it was nice to know someone cared about me…that you loved me that much..."

"I did. I do. I always will. Fuck, it still feels weird to tell you that sometimes. I can't believe I can actually say it to your face."

She smiled and kissed his scruffy cheek.

"We really should get some sleep, Hermione," Ron insisted.

"No, let's stay up talking some more, please?" she pleaded.

"I love talking with you too love, but we have a long day ahead of us tomorrow."

"I don't want to sleep," she countered.

Ron frowned. "I know you don't. But I don't want you to get sick, Hermione."

"I don't care. It's better for me if I don't sleep, anyway," she asserted.

Ron's brow furrowed. "That doesn't make any sense."

Technically, he was right, but in her mind, being fatigued due to lack of sleep was worth avoiding a horrific nightmare. "I just don't want to, Ron."

"Well… maybe when you go to the healers...they can help you with that," Ron suggested with caution.

She had almost forgotten her promise to him. Before, when he had brought up her going to St. Mungo's, her first reaction had always been to lash out and immediately refuse his suggestion. Now, after she had promised him that she would go, she didn't have the right to be upset with him anymore.

"Yes... maybe they can," Hermione answered quietly. She didn't like admitting she needed help. It felt odd; to rely on someone else rather than figure out the solutions to her problems by herself.

"Please, try to sleep, for me?" Ron asked.

"We have to leave in three hours anyway, Ron. We might as well stay awake," she argued.

Ron ignored her request. "If you wake up, I'll take care of you. Don't worry."

"Okay…" she relented.

"Good," Ron said as he closed his eyes.

"Ron?"

"Yeah?" he answered groggily.

"Do you think I'll ever be able to sleep like I used to? To not be afraid? Do you think there will ever be a whole day when I don't think about what happened to me?"

"Yes," Ron said with certainty. "I do. I'm going to help you with it, Hermione."

She didn't answer him; only closed her eyes and tried to focus on the sound of Ron's steady breathing.

She wished she would have known how simple her life had been; before the war. Maybe then she would have appreciated it more. Before the war, her worst troubles had consisted of trying to stay at the top of the class or taming her unruly hair. Over the past year, so many things had happened to her. So many things that she was just now realizing a teenager should never have to deal with, much less an adult. She didn't know what she truly had before, until it was gone.

Ron's breathing was getting quieter and steadier by the second, and she could tell by the peaceful look that had slipped onto his face that he was asleep. She studied his face, taking in the lightly freckled skin of his forehead, nose, and cheeks. His surprisingly soft lips, and his ginger eyelashes and facial hair. He had all the same features he had the first day she met him, only now they were more pronounced and manlier.

Hermione was momentarily struck by her odd thought; of course his face looked more mature than it had when he was eleven. She had never thought much about the two of them growing up when it had been happening, but suddenly she turned around and they were a man and woman instead of a boy and girl.

Everything was different now… some of it was wonderful, but a lot of it was proving to be more than she had bargained for. However, if out of all of it, she got Ron, then in her mind, it was all worth it.

She tried to relax...to think about Ron, and how happy he made her. But she couldn't. It was impossible to end the never ending loop of dread that ran through her head whenever she tried to clear her mind and sleep.

So, she lay there in silence, staring up at the ceiling of the tent. The faint blue glow still emanated around the small room, and she found it helped to calm her nerves, if only slightly.

 _Just relax_ , she told herself. _Close your eyes. Try to match Ron's deep breaths._

After what she could only estimate to be more than an hour, she still had not worked up enough peace of mind to fall asleep. She didn't want to wake Ron, but more than anything she wanted to talk to him again. She looked at the time on his watch and could barely make out the arrows pointing to 6 o'clock.

The sun was starting to come up; it shone through the tiny cracks in the tent and cancelled out the blue glow of her flames. She sighed and sat up, gently rolling off of Ron and quietly walking toward the tiny kitchen.

There, she set to work, summoning the food that she had remembered to pack this time from her beaded bag. She wracked her brain to remember the cooking spells Mrs. Weasley had taught her, and when she waved her wand again the bacon started cooking itself on the tiny stove, and eggs cracked themselves over a pan. She smiled to herself, thankful that she had remembered to put cooling charms on the food. One of the many benefits of magic meant that refrigerators were not needed.

She set the table nicely, the way her mother had always taught her to do it. When she was satisfied that everything was perfect, she settled down in a chair with a book and began to read by the light of the sun shining through the tent flap.

"Hermione?" a voice asked groggily from behind her. Ron was standing there with tousled hair, and rubbing his eyes tiredly.

"Good morning," she answered cheerfully, hoping she was disguising the tiredness in her own voice.

"You made breakfast?" he asked in surprise.

"I resent your implication that I can't cook. I'll have you know I've been practicing," she said pointedly.

Ron raised his hands in surrender. "Oi, I'm not complaining! I woke up because of the brilliant smell."

She smiled. "Well, the bacon should be done any second now. Come along, then," she motioned for Ron to sit at the table with her.

Ron eagerly sat down, and when she summoned the food to the table he began to heap it onto his plate. He picked up a fork and stuffed a bite into his mouth. "Hermione, this is great! I'm sorry I ever doubted your cooking skills," he said, shoving another bite into his mouth.

"So, you slept through the night? That's brilliant, Hermione," Ron said in a muffled voice as he gobbled down more food.

She tentatively picked up her tea and took a sip, purposefully not saying anything in response. It wasn't that she wanted to lie to Ron, but she didn't want to get into a row right now. She knew if he found out about her sleepless night he would be upset, and they needed to focus on catching the portkey and getting to Australia.

Ron, however, had moved on to the eggs, and seemed too preoccupied with food at the moment to notice her lack of response.

She sat and daintily sipped her tea as Ron continued to eat, oblivious to her racing mind.

"Ron, what time is it? I wish I had gotten a watch for my seventeenth birthday," she muttered.

Ron laughed. "Only wizards get watches for their seventeenth, Hermione. You're a witch," Ron said in a tone that seemed to state this should have been quite obvious to her.

She rolled her eyes. "Yes, I'm aware, Ron. I might just have to invest in one myself, you know. I'm quite tired of always looking at your wrist to know the time."

Ron pouted. "Aw, but I like it when you do that."

She smiled in affection. "Well, maybe I can continue to suffer through it. What is the time now, might I ask?"

"Um, it's… 7:30," Ron answered, squinting at his watch.

She clapped her hands together. "Right. You finish eating quickly, then we'll pack up the tent."

Ron nodded in cooperation. Hermione turned and walked toward their shared bed, picking up her bag and searching for comfortable clothes to change into. She picked out a t-shirt and simple trousers. She kicked off her pajama bottoms and pulled her shirt over her head, then heard a low whistle from Ron coming from the vicinity of the kitchen.

She glanced over her shoulder to give him a disapproving look. He merely shrugged his shoulders and gave her a smirk. "Your arse, remember?" he asked, tapping his head with his finger as if to jog her memory.

She snorted. "Oh, yes, how could I have forgotten?" she answered sarcastically.

Ron shrugged. "Beats me. I thought I reminded you enough times."

She merely ignored him and finished changing her clothes. "Are you ready?" she asked when she was done.

"Yup," Ron answered as he walked around the tent with a plate of bacon.

"Really, Ron?"

"What!? I'm hungry!"

She sighed. "Fine. Just don't let it hinder your ability to hold on to the portkey. If you let go somewhere between here and Australia that would be disastrous."

He rolled his eyes. "Relax, love. You worry too much."

"Let's just pack up the tent."

He shrugged and they exited the tent into the chilly morning air.

"I'll take down the enchantments," Ron asserted. Hermione watch as he walked in a circle around the tent, muttering the counter spells. Always one to scrutinize other's magical techniques, she secretly observed him and noticed he was doing all of the magic perfectly.

She packed the tent away and stored it in her beaded bag, then pulled out the portkey and grasped it tightly in her hand. She glanced over to see Ron sitting on a log, still enjoying his bacon.

"Ahem," she coughed, holding out her hand impatiently. Ron really could be oblivious to the world when he was eating.

He smiled sheepishly and grasped her hand, and she held tight, determined not to let anything get in the way of this final step to Australia.

"Time?" she asked.

"Five minutes," Ron answered.

She nodded.

They stood silently in the woods, the crisp morning air flowing through the trees the only sound that could be heard.

She closed her eyes. This was going to work. This had to work. Yesterday was just a fluke.

She felt like hours had gone by, and she glanced at Ron nervously. "Don't worry, still four minutes to go," he assured her.

Finally, after what felt like forever, the portkey glowed. She grasped Ron's hand impossibly tighter as they were sucked into the light. After what felt like an eternity of spinning, her feet landed on the ground, and Ron once again reached out his arms to steady her.

The physical evidence as to where they were was everywhere. She could make out a few Australian flags hanging from poles in the distance. She could hear people walking by on the street, speaking with an Australian accent.

But mostly, she could sense it. After so long-more than a year- she stood on the same soil as her parents. She was in the same country as her Mum and Dad. For all she knew, they could be within walking distance from her at this very moment. They were here. They had made it. They were in Australia.

* * *

 _Author's note: Ah, patience. You guys have a lot of it, and for that I am grateful. Thanks everyone for continuing to follow and review._


	48. Chapter 48

They were way too early to check into their room at the hotel Kingsley had put them up in, so Hermione suggested they walk around, and find a telephone book with which to begin looking up dental practices until their check-in time at noon.

"Do you have any idea what town you sent them to?" Ron inquired as they walked hand in hand down a winding street.

"No," Hermione admitted. She knew that this would happen on the off chance she survived the war, but nevertheless she was frustrated at her lack of knowledge as to where exactly her parents were. "I just made them want to go to Australia, but left the destination very vague in their minds. I figured if we got caught and I somehow had Legilimency used against me, then at least they stood a fighting chance. Unfortunately, now we have just as much of a chance as any death eater would have…"

"Ah, but you're forgetting love, we have one thing they wouldn't have had: your brilliant knowledge about the muggle world. You can bet those tossers wouldn't have even known what a fellyphone book was, much less how to use it."

"Telephone," she corrected automatically.

"Right. Telephone."

"Alright... let's… go in here…" she said, pointing to a library she spotted on the street.

Ron frowned. "A library? Do we have to, Hermione?" he whined.

She rolled her eyes. "Yes, Ronald. Don't worry, I won't make you take notes or anything; they usually have telephone books in local libraries."

Ron looked relieved. "Oh, alright. Lead the way, then."

She grabbed his hand and led him up the library steps, pausing to take in the sight before her when they walked through the door. Hermione hadn't been in a library in over a year, and while this one obviously could never compare to the Hogwarts library, the familiar smell of parchment and sound of people quietly turning pages made her smile.

She heard Ron chuckle and turned her head to see him looking at her in mirth. "Alright there, Hermione?"

"Yes. Oh, I forgot how much I love this," she said quietly.

Ron looked around. "Bit weird though, isn't it? No books flying around? How do they get the ones off the top shelves? And how do they summon a book they want? How would they know where it is?"

"With a decimal system, of course."

"A what?"

"Never mind, come on," she said, tugging his hand and walking toward the front desk.

Hermione inquired to the librarian about phones books, and was directed to an abundance of them. She sighed, wishing she could take all of them, as her bag would be able to carry an unlimited amount. However, she did not want to draw too much attention to them, so she chose the ones that looked the most recent and promising, and Ron plucked them off the shelves one by one at her direction.

Ron slammed the books down on the librarian's desk, and she looked at the two of them for a few seconds before shrugging and checking the books out under the name Smith at Hermione's request. After promptly rejecting Ron's assertion that he had the ability to levitate the books close enough to his hands to look as though he were carrying them, he sighed in defeat and proceeding to hold them all as he followed her.

"What are you looking for, Hermione?" Ron asked as she walked at a brisk pace slightly behind him in an effort to keep up with his own pace. His long strides were faster than hers, even with the extra weight of the books for him to carry.

"Somewhere we can sit for a few hours and make some calls," she responded, glancing in every shop window they passed for the possibility of a pay phone. She wished Mum and Dad had agreed to allowing her to have a mobile phone last year; they had said she had to wait until she was eighteen.

"There!" she said, spotting a cafe across the street. There was sure to be a pay phone in there, and if they got a table near it maybe they could make some calls without looking too suspicious.

Sure enough, there was a pay phone, and Hermione chose a table right next to it, and motioned for Ron to set the books down. "Alright, let's order some coffee. We can't check in until noon, so we'll be here for a while. When we get to the hotel we can just use the telephone there, but I figure this will be better than doing nothing…"

Ron nodded and motioned to the books, seemingly eager for her to make a call. She paused, wondering if she should start by looking up the name Wilkins, or by calling dental practices. The telephone books covered a wide range of states and territories across Australia, and she momentarily felt so overwhelmed, that she didn't know where to begin.

"I'll start with dental practices. There's less of them, so we might be able to find them faster that way," she finally decided.

Ron nodded again, looking even more eager.

"Well, here goes nothing," she said, selecting a book at random and going to the D section. There were at least one hundred dental practices listed; maybe more. She selected the first one, pushed a coin into the coin slot, and dialed the number.

The phone rang for a few seconds, before a woman picked up at the other end. "Hello, Australian Dental, how may I help you?"

"Oh. Um, hello. Is Dr. Wilkins in today?"

"I'm sorry miss, but a Dr. Wilkins does not work here."

"Oh, my mistake. Thank you. Bye." Hermione abruptly hung up the phone. "Well, they don't work at that one," she told Ron.

"That's alright, love. Try the next one," Ron said in a muffled voice, and she looked over to see that he had somehow acquired another plate of bacon. She rolled her eyes and nodded, picking the next number and dialing.

Again, she had no luck.

She dialed another number; no luck.

And another.

And another.

Until nearly four hours and six cups of coffee later, and she was nowhere near closer to finding her parents.

Hermione slammed the telephone book down on the table and groaned, feeling exhausted from lack of sleep and her own failure. She was surprised to feel tears pooling in her eyes.

"Hey now, that was only the first book, Hermione. We still have a few more to go. Anyway, it's just about noon; why don't we go back to the hotel?" Ron inquired.

"Okay," she nodded in defeat, yawning into her hand and holding her beaded bag under the table as Ron discreetly slipped the books in one by one. Had she really expected it to be that easy? To pick up a random book and dial their number right away? She chastized herself for being so foolishly optimistic.

They walked back to the hotel, and through the front door into the lobby.

"I have to piss like a hippogriff," Ron muttered as they entered the five star hotel.

She shot him a chastising look. "Ron, that's vulgar. And don't mention- she dropped her voice to a whisper- _hippogriffs_ around muggles." Ron rolled his eyes. "Why don't you use the loo, and I'll go check us in?" she suggested.

Ron looked uncertain. "I don't know, Hermione. I don't want to leave you alone."

"It will be five minutes. Look, there's no line at the front desk. I'll be quick and then wait for you outside the door."

Ron finally nodded, his need to relieve himself not leaving him with much ability to argue with her. He glanced around, obviously looking for a loo, when she spotted one across the lobby, in the bar that resided on the first floor of the hotel. She pointed at it and Ron took off in that general direction.

Checking them in was easy enough; Kingsley had once again used Smith as their cover name, and the woman at the front desk handed her a card key with a pleasant smile and an "Enjoy your stay, Mrs. Smith."

Hermione smiled and nodded, momentarily taken aback by someone calling her 'Mrs.' anything. Mrs. felt like a term used for an older, more experienced woman than herself. A married woman. Fleetingly, a picture flashed in her mind of herself taking the card from the concierge, but being called "Mrs. Weasley", instead.

Hermione turned and ventured through the bar, trying her best to ignore the stares and looks up and down her body groups of drunk men were giving her. She turned into the little hallway and spotted the men's room door, then stood near the wall, waiting for Ron.

All of the sudden, one of the men she had seen looking at her turned down the hall, and when he spotted her a smile lit up his face.

"Alright there, darlin'? What's a beautiful girl like you doin' out tonight?"

"Nothing," she spoke quickly, caught off guard that this man had decided to make a pass at her.

"Then why don't you come have a drink with me and my mates. We'll livin up yer night."

"No thank you," she spoke firmly, grasping her wand tightly in her pocket.

The man backed her up toward the wall until her back hit it, then placed his hands on the wall right next to either side of her head. "Come on, love. Have a drink with me." He was slurring his words now.

Her stomach churned at the man calling her the same term of endearment that Ron always did, but she held her ground. "I said, leave me be," she replied more sternly.

"Aw, don't be so cold. You really can't blame me, love. What's a bloke to do when he's sees a beautiful girl like you out all alone?" The muggle slurred his words even more.

Hermione gripped her wand tighter. She didn't want to use magic against him, but he was about to force her hand.

All of the sudden, the man's looming figure was ripped out of her line of vision, and before she registered what had happened, his body hit the wall opposite from her and Ron's larger and familiar body stepped in front of her.

"I should fucking kill you!" Ron shouted, advancing on the muggle.

"What the fuck, man?" the muggle moaned, standing up and looking like his was thinking about swinging on Ron.

"Ron, please, no!" Hermione whispered, whipping her head back and forth to make sure no one was watching them.

Ron either ignored her or was in such a rage that he could not hear her. He shoved the man against the wall with what looked like all his strength, then pulled his wand and pointed it at the man's face.

"Ron!" she shouted, reaching up to grip his shoulders and attempt to pull him back. She might as well have been trying to move a brick wall.

The muggle stared at Ron's wand with what looked like an amused expression on his face. "What the fuck…a fucking stick?" he muttered, his current state of intoxication more obvious than ever.

"Ron, he's a muggle! Stop, please!" Hermione whispered harshly. She heard Ron take a few deep breaths, then pocket his wand.

"Let's go," he breathed, snatching her hand, and pushing the muggle man one more time for good measure before he began tugging her away.

"Ron..." she murmured, but he ignored her and kept tugging her through the bar and out into the lobby toward the lift.

"Ron," she said a bit more loudly. "Ron, you're hurting me."

He suddenly paused and whipped his head around to look at her, dropping her arm immediately. "Oh, fuck, are you alright?"

"Fine. Let's just get up to the room," she responded quickly. Hermione felt as though she could fall asleep on her feet; she had been awake for more than 24 hours.

He nodded and gently put his arm around her before steering them through the doors. Hermione pushed their floor number, and they rode the lift in silence. She turned her head to look at Ron, but he was merely staring straight ahead with an enraged look on his face.

The doors opened and now it was her turn to tug his arm. She lead him down the long hallway until they reached their door number, then used the key card to open the door and tugged him inside.

As she admired the hotel room that seemed to be somehow even more beautiful and extravagant than the last one, Ron darted around the room, muttering protective and silencing enchantments. She studied him as he worked, and didn't quite know how to address his obvious rage.

"Ron… about what happened down there… you can't pull your wand on a muggle…"

He froze and spun in her direction. "I can bloody well pull my wand on anyone I want! Especially anyone who tries to hurt you!"

"He wasn't hurting me! Sure, he was being entirely inappropriate, but I had the situation under control!"

"Oh, and what exactly were you going to do if he forced himself on you, Hermione? The bloke was almost as big as me!"

"Well… I would have had to use magic… but I would have done it discreetly… and I only would have confunded him. It looked like you were about to hex him into next week!"

"Yeah? Well, I fucking should have!"

"Ron… you know how I feel about using magic on muggles," she pleaded.

She couldn't stand the thought of using magic against muggles; especially after what she had done to her parents. She couldn't even stand the thought of using it against an arse like the guy downstairs.

Ron scoffed. "I saw the look in his eye Hermione. He's lucky all I did was rough him up a bit."

"I was handling it."

"That's not what it looked like to me."

"Ron, you know I can take care of myself!"

"Can you? What would you have done if he had grabbed your arm before you had a chance to pull your wand? You might as well have been a muggle woman if that had happened!"

Her eyes lit up in anger. "Oh, again, with the woman argument? Just because I'm a girl that doesn't mean I'm any less capable-"

"Yes, it does, Hermione! That bloke was at least twice as strong as you, easily! And if you hadn't had your wand, he would have been able to do whatever he wanted to you! Remember those snatchers in the forest? As soon as you lost your wand, those fuckers threw you around like you were a fucking quaffle!"

She paused, her mind racing back to when they had been caught in the forest. While Ron and Harry had both needed to be held back by at least two or three men, all while managing to stand their ground, it had only taken one of the snatchers to restrain her. When he had gotten bored he had thrown her on the ground at another snatcher's feet, and before she had a chance to stand the other one had plucked her up and managed to hold her still with one arm, almost casually, as if it were effortless. She had never felt so powerless. That is, until a few minutes later when she experienced the cruciatus curse for the first time.

"It _does_ matter if you're a girl, and for more than one reason: you're too nice! You should have confunded him the second he said one word to you! Stop believing the best in people! You're taking too many risks!"

Much to her annoyance, her eyes began to tear up, and her voice was shaky when she spoke. "I can't always believe the worst in everyone, Ron. What kind of a life is that?"

Ron sighed. "Look, I don't want you to do that. I just want you to hex any creepy blokes you see, the second they say one word to you. I don't want anyone touching you." She frowned at his possessive tone, and he must have thought she misunderstood him. "Without your permission, love," he clarified.

She nodded, thinking that more than enough people had touched her physically and mentally without her permission. After all, the war had only ended less than a month ago, and some of those people still existed out there. Maybe Ron was right. Maybe she had become too comfortable and let her guard down. "Alright, Ron. I promise I'll be more cautious. Maybe I _am_ too nice..."

Ron shook his head. "Now, don't stop being all girly and nice around me, mind you. I happen to be a big fan of it."

She smiled at him. "Ah, yes. Been a fan for a while, have you?"

"Oh yeah. I always knew you were a girl, Hermione. Even if you thought I was too thick to realize it. Besides, I reckon that's one of the main reasons I'm with you; you know, on account of you being a girl and all. Even though I have no idea what you're on about most of the time, I wouldn't change it. I'm sorry if it bothers you that I treat you differently because of it, but I'm not changing that either."

She sighed, at this point too exhausted to argue with him any more. "Fine, Ronald. I think I need to lie down…" she muttered groggily.

Ron's eyebrows rose in surprise. "You want to sleep, now?"

"I just seem to be very tired…"

Ron stared at her as if not quite believing that she would be this exhausted so early in the afternoon, but then shrugged and nodded. She turned and walked quietly over to the bed, at this point too tired to contemplate the very likely possibility of a nightmare. She would deal with it later, after she had gotten a sufficient amount of sleep. She could barely stand on her own two feet, she felt so exhausted.

"Why don't you take some of this, Hermione?" she heard Ron ask from behind her.

She turned around to see him holding up a bottle of Dreamless Sleep potion, and flinched in surprise. "What was that doing in my bag?" she asked, immediately beginning to interrogate him.

Ron had the decency to look sheepish. "I stowed it in there the night before we left."

"Why?" she asked, trying her best to control her anger.

"Because, Hermione! You're having bloody horrific dreams! So I reckon a potion that makes you not dream would be a fucking great solution to the problem!" Ron shouted.

"Ron, you know my position on this," she said in quiet outrage. "I don't want to rely on a medication to better my problems."

Following the first night she had woken up screaming, Mrs. Weasley had offered her the family's batch of Dreamless Sleep potion, which she had politely declined. She did not want to rely on a facade to better her issues; a thin veil thrown over the reality that would be her dreams if she were to not drink a potion that altered her state of mind.

"But why not? Just for one night? Just let yourself get one good night's sleep!"

"No! How dare you put items into my bag without informing me! How dare you try to force this on me, Ron!" She was playing the only card she could think of at this point; the one where she screamed and ranted at him, in an attempt to hit a nerve and start a row.

Ron flinched at her tone and accusations, looking hurt. "I'm not forcing you to do anything, Hermione. I would never do that."

She tried switching to another tactic. "Have you ever actually researched mind altering potions, Ron?" He shrugged sheepishly in response. "Of course not. Well, let me be the first to tell you that one can become addicted to them. _Addicted_ , Ron. You do know what that means, don't you?"

"Of course I bloody well know what that means, Hermione! For fuck's sake! Nothing bad will happen if you take it just once! I used to take it all the time when I was a kid; Mum would give it to us whenever we woke up from a bad dream!"

"Oh I see, because having a scary dream about spiders once in a while is the same as having a recurring nightmare every night, replaying an _actual_ experience that happened to me! One where I was a breath away form being _tortured_ to death!"

Ron paled. "Hermione… I didn't mean to say it was the same…"

"Then what did you mean!?" She hadn't been this angry at him in a long time.

"I just wanted to help you!"

"Stop trying to fix me, Ron! This is how I am! If you can't accept that, then… then I don't know what we're going to do! Because I'm so desperately in love with you at this point, that I think you saying you actually can't handle all of this would destroy me-" her eyes welled up with tears.

"Woah, woah, woah! You know that's not what I meant, Hermione!"

She attempted to blink her tears away. "I'm sticking to my principles, Ron. I'm not going to take that potion. Ever. So you should do well to accept that. I already agreed to go to St. Mungo's when we get back, isn't that enough for you?"

"None of this is for me, Hermione."

Her heart melted a bit at the softness of his voice, but nevertheless, she maintained her position.

"I'm still upset with you," she asserted.

Ron sighed in defeat. "I'm just at a loss with how to help you, Hermione. I feel useless."

"Well, once again, you don't have to solve all of my problems."

"But what if I want to?" His tone sounded desperate.

"Well, I don't want you to. At least, not like this," she said, her annoyance still evident in her tone.

He sighed. "Look, I'm sorry I brought the potion without telling you, but it's not like I was going to slip it into your tea! I just want to help you. I need to."

"Why? What's this obsession with fixing every problem in my life!?"

Ron's expression faltered. "It's not like that…" She continued to stare at him. "Hermione… I've already done a lifetime's worth of fucking up where you are concerned in the past few months alone. How the hell am I supposed to make up for that?"

"You don't have to-"

"I do," Ron said, cutting her off with a shake of his head.

"I can't argue with you anymore, Ron. I'm going to sleep. Without that potion." The hopelessness she was beginning to feel at the possibility of ever finding her parents was wearing her down. She crawled underneath the duvet of the king sized bed, not even caring that she was still dressed in the clothes she had worn all day.

In the back of her mind, she faintly recognized that she was acting out of character; probably from the combination of stress from not getting anywhere close to finding her parents, and sleep deprivation. However, she felt too exhausted to care. The last thing she saw before she shut her eyes was Ron, getting into the bed next to her. She felt an arm wrap around her waist, and then closed her eyes, feeling distraught over his helpless expression, and then a rare calmness as she drifted off to sleep.

* * *

 _Author's note: First of all, I'd like to wish everyone happy holidays, and a happy New Year! I can't believe it's is almost a year now since I started this story. I'm sorry about not updating as often, but I'm on holiday now and will have more time to write. Anyway, I didn't know if any of you were wondering why Hermione didn't just take a Dreamless Sleep potion, but this has kind of been my reasoning for it this entire time. As always, please feel free to review or PM me any comments or suggestions; I reply to everyone!_


	49. Chapter 49

_Author's note: A little warning: there is adult content in this chapter. Also, shout out to Clementine Folchart, who seems to be the newest recruit to my awesome reviewers! Thank you so much for writing such a nice review, and I'm glad you and everyone else are enjoying this story._

* * *

She woke up with a start, sitting up straight and gasping for air.

Her dreams had been about Ron again. Not being beautiful enough for him. Not being able to make him happy. Not being a woman whom he could love.

Losing him.

Tears streaked down her face at the thought of losing him. She couldn't lose him. She just couldn't. She had been so sure that Bellatrix was going to kill him in front of her in an effort to torture her even further.

It was dark; definitely the middle of the night or very early morning. "Ron?" she whispered, just needing to know that he was alright.

" 'ermione….?" Ron groaned sleepily.

"Are you okay?" she whispered.

That seemed to snap him out of his groggy haze. "Yeah, love. Of course."

"Oh. Alright, then. Good," she replied shakily, trying to hide the tremors in her voice.

"What's wrong?" he inquired.

"Just a bad dream," she answered, hoping to sound calm.

"C'mere," he said, and she rolled toward the large lump she could just make out in the dark that she knew to be Ron. He grabbed her and hoisted her toward him, until she was sitting closer to him. They locked eyes in the moonlight.

"I'm still angry," she informed him.

"So am I," he informed her in return.

Silence then filled the room.

She felt what only could be described as sexual tension building between them as they continued to stare at each other. It was all around her; drowning her. The only way to stop it would be to snog each other madly within the next few seconds lest they go mad from the suspense, and they both seemed to realize this.

She didn't know who moved first, or if they both moved at the same time, but suddenly her lips were crushed against his. Their tongues glided over each other and their teeth clashed together furiously. Ron used one hand to grip her hair roughly and the other to knead her bottom while she straddled him and wrapped her arms tightly around his neck and her legs even more tightly around his waist. She felt the raw sexual energy radiating from Ron and briefly found it in herself to marvel at his prowess before she dove back into soley focussing on his kisses. He was grinding up into her and her hand shot down between their bodies to touch the hardness between them, when suddenly she seemed to come to her senses.

He seemed to want to devour her, but she could not let him. She couldn't take her anger and disappointment and momentarily relieve it with physical pleasure, only to have it all come rushing back right afterward. Something told her it would only make the tension between the two of them worse.

"Let's talk about this," she breathed, wincing at the phrase that would obviously serve as a total turn off.

Ron groaned. "Why?"

"Because, Ron. We shouldn't be doing this right now! We shouldn't get into the habit of masking our arguments with...with sexual endeavours!"

"And why not? I always sort of pictured that's what we would do."

"What!?" she sputtered.

Ron shrugged. "You know, we'll fight, and then we'll make up, only it would take us shorter than it used to at Hogwarts because it'll lead to-"

"Is that all you ever think about!?"

"Well, it's mostly what I think about…"

"Ron!" she admonished. "We're not doing anything of the sort until we talk about this! We always brush all of our arguments under the rug and we never talk about what happened!"

"Are you saying you're not going to touch my cock again until I do what you say?"

She pondered his question. "Yes, I suppose that _is_ what I'm saying."

He groaned. "Alright, fine…"

She suppressed the urge to snicker at just how easy that had been. "Good. Now, starting with what happened in the lobby: You have to be more careful! You can't go around pulling your wand on muggles!"

"I have to be more careful!? You have to be more careful!"

She sighed. "Yes, and I've already admitted to that. But Ron, we're in the muggle world right now. We have to behave like muggles. We can't risk using magic in front of them."

"Fine, Hermione. But if it's something like what happened with that drunk bastard downstairs, I'm hexing first and asking questions later."

"Is this only about my safety, or might it also have something to do with the fact that he was coming onto me?"

Ron bristled. "What am I supposed to do, Hermione? Like the fact that some randy drunkard wanted to… to… bloody hell, I can't even say it."

"Ron, you know there are probably going to be other men who make passes at me, right?" Ron winced. "But you have to know I would never...I mean, what you and I have, it doesn't compare to anything else. If you're worried about other men, don't be."

Ron sighed. "Sometimes I don't think you understand how fucking gorgeous you are, Hermione. You could have any man you wanted."

She was beginning to wonder if she actually could qualify as being as beautiful as Ron always told her she was. For so long, she had thought of herself as unattractive and mousey, but the stares and gazes of desire shot up and down her body from the men in the bar could not be ignored.

"It doesn't matter, Ron. I want you, okay? _You_. And I know you want me. That's all that matters."

"I reckon you're right, love," Ron replied. "And listen, about the potion, I'm sorry." He was looking at her with innocent eyes.

"Are you really sorry? Or do you just want me to put my hand back where it was?" she challenged.

"Er… maybe the second one…"

She clucked her tongue in annoyance.

"Okay, look Hermione, I just don't really see what the big deal is. So I brought something to help you, so what?"

"Oh I see. Make yourself look logical and reasonable, while I'm the crazy one!"

Ron groaned. "I just don't understand where you're coming from with this, Hermione."

"You don't have to understand it. You just have to respect it."

Ron sighed. "Alright. Okay. I can do that."

"Good."

"And love, I know you're upset about not being able to find your parents right away, but just think: we managed to make it here! We at least know we're in the same country as what we're trying to find; that's more than we could say with the horcruxes."

"I suppose you're right…" she mused. "I was just so concentrated on getting here that I didn't think much about the work we would have to do once we arrived. I'm sorry if I was so short with you, but I'm just so focussed on finding them. I want to so badly..."

Ron shrugged. "You're headstrong, Hermione. I always knew that about you."

She sighed. "You call it headstrong; others might call it something else."

"Like what?"

She sighed again. "Bossy. A know-it-all. A control freak."

Ron winced. "I reckon I've called you all of those before."

She shot him a look that seemed to say 'of course you have'. "It's one of my worst qualities; I know that."

Ron shrugged. "So, you're a little high maintenance. So what?"

"Ron!" she gasped, affronted.

"But I don't mind it, Hermione! In fact, I kind of like it when you get all huffy and in a tizzy. I feel like I do a good job of calming you down."

She pondered his statement. "Well, I suppose you could be right…"

"See? I just calmed you down," Ron pointed out, looking smug.

"Also, it doesn't have to be all work and no play…" Ron suggested, sliding his hands back up her shirt to grasp her breasts.

"You're insufferable."

"And don't you forget it."

"Never," she agreed, sighing as he kneaded her breasts in a rougher manner and dragged one hand out from underneath her shirt to grasp her bottom.

"We can't get distracted though. We need to put most of our energy into finding them," she muttered as he kissed the side of her neck. "We have to spend most of our time researching where they could be."

"That's fine, love. I happen to be doing some research right now."

"What research?"

"I'm trying to decide what's more brilliant; your tits or your arse. So far, the results are inconclusive. I'm going to need a lot more data."

She sniggered and wriggled out of his grasp. "Do you think you can convince me to take my clothes off by equating it to valuable research?"

"Isn't it working?"

She bit her lip. "Maybe."

"Yeah? Then c'mere."

She crawled back over to him. "Now what?" she asked innocently.

Ron's eyebrows rose in surprise. "What do you...er… what do you want to do?"

"Whatever you want me to," she responded, giving him what she hoped was a sexy smulder. The darkness was helping to bring out an erotic side of her.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. Tell me what you want me to do," she told him, finding she quite liked it when he took control in intimate situations such as this. Sure, she was bossy in everyday life, but it felt wonderful to relinquish control for once, and what better a place to do it than with Ron, who claimed he loved to 'calm her down'.

Ron nodded, seeming to understand where she was coming from. "Put your hand back where it was before," he said immediately.

"Like this?" she asked playfully, placing her hand back on the quite obvious bulge.

"Fuck yeah... Now, um, tell me something naughty about yourself. Something I don't already know," Ron commanded, apparently having no reservations about using the power she had given him.

She shot him an exasperated look, but nevertheless complied. "Well… if you really must know…" she trailed off.

"Yeah…?" Ron encouraged.

"...those books about horcruxes weren't the only books I checked out of the restricted section."

Ron's brow furrowed. "Hermione, when I said naughty I was thinking about something a little less in the academic sense."

She shook her head and bit her lip. "No, you don't understand. This book, it um, it had spells that a witch could use to, um, pleasure herself."

"Are you fucking serious?" Ron asked, apparently dumbfounded.

"Yes," she said with a blush.

"So you're telling me that in that bloody mobile library of yours you carried around with us for the past year you had a book on how to get yourself off wedged between _Hogwarts, A History_ and _The Tales of Beedle The Bard_?"

"Yes."

"And then you used these spells? While I was in the tent with you?"

She nodded her head and blushed even brighter.

The next sound that came out of Ron's mouth was not so much a word, but a string of nonsensical stuttering and swearing. She giggled into the palm of her hand that was not currently occupied with the seemingly evergrowing bulge in his trousers.

"Alright, go on. Show me," Ron said, apparently having recovered from his inability to form words.

"What? No! I could never…" she trailed off. Ron only continued to stare at her expectantly.

"No, Ron!"

"Well, maybe some other time then?" Ron asked hopefully.

"No…"

"Maybe?"

"Fine. Maybe."

Ron grinned from ear to ear. "I'll be looking forward to it."

"I said maybe, Ron! That's not a promise!"

Ron only grinned wider, apparently unconvinced.

She rolled her eyes and took her hand off of him, and his grin immediately vanished. "Aw, what'd I do now?" Apparently he took her removing her hand from his penis as a punishment.

"Stop teasing me!" she insisted.

"I'm not teasing you, love. Actually, I think what you just told me is so fucking hot that I don't have much brain power to tease you right now."

"Alright, well, maybe I could help you with your problem…" she said suggestively as she went for the zipper of his trousers.

Ron nodded his head up and down. "We have until morning until any of the practices are open again, right? We might as well do something productive during all that time. I know how much you like to be productive."

"Yes…that is true…" Hermione murmured. She climbed back onto his lap and straddled him, then stuck her hand down his trousers and grasped him. She leaned into kiss him and immediately noted the change in his snogging technique; it was sloppy and distracted, probably due to the fact that her hand was touching his extremely prominent erection.

"Lay down," she whispered, the darkness encouraging her.

He immediately complied, pulling her down on top of him. They were now sprawled out at a haphazard angle across the bed, but it was so large that it didn't matter how they laid. She began snogging him madly, and ran her hand up and down his length at a furious pace.

"Does this- _oh fuck that's good_ \- does this mean I'm forgiven?" Ron groaned.

"Yes. You're forgiven. I can't stay mad at you for too long, Ron," she whispered against his lips.

"Thank Merlin. I was worried you were never going to touch my cock again," he gasped.

"I think that would be a punishment for me as well," Hermione whispered again. She had made a resolution to more often tell Ron the things she admired about him instead of just thinking them in her head, and what better way to do so than complimenting this particular part of him? She was rather fond of Ron's anatomy; it was fascinating for her to feel the physical evidence of his attraction.

Ron groaned out his approval at her statement. She grinned at her achievement in making him happy.

"I'm rather enthralled by the male anatomy; not having had any experience with it first hand until recently. It's interesting to observe," she mused out loud.

"Well, feel free to use me as your test subject anytime. But love, would you mind if we stop talking about it for a bit? I can't focus on much when your hand is where it is," Ron panted.

"Oh, right. Sorry."

She went back to snogging him and touching him, and Ron went back to moaning in her ear. They reminded like that for a duration, all the while Ron's panting getting faster and faster until he was climaxing and moaning his love for her all at once.

She had just reached for her wand and cleaned the two of them when he grabbed her and pulled her back down.

"I want to taste you again, Hermione," Ron growled in her ear.

"Oh. Um, okay," she answered, simultaneously ecstatic and reserved about him doing that again.

"Wicked," he answered, grasping her and flipping her onto her back in one quick maneuver. Before she could even register what had happened, he quickly yanked her trousers and knickers down and had his mouth on her.

"Oh my," she gasped, immediately remembering this feeling. She did not know what was more astonishing to her; the fact that she both allowed Ron to do this to her and enjoyed it so much, or the fact that he seemed to enjoy it just as much if not more.

After a few minutes he added his fingers into the mix and she moaned. "Fuck yeah, Hermione. That's so fucking hot." She felt less self conscious under the cover of darkness; enough to moan loudly again. "Yeah, that's right, cum for me. Fuck, I wish I could see you right now," Ron growled.

All she could do was mutter a nonsensical agreement, while secretly reveling in the cover of the darkness. With her sense of sight being shut down, it amplified what she was feeling both emotionally and physically even more. It felt safe, and private, and intimate. Like they really were in their own little world.

"Ron, you make me feel so good," she murmured, unable to stop her declaration.

He responded by speeding up his ministrations, to the point where she did not know how much more of this she could take before she burst. Never had she touched herself so roughly and yet also with so much adoration. Ron was touching her in ways she never could, filling her in ways she never had, even with all those restricted spells. Nothing compared to him. Nothing.

And then the crescendo of pleasure she had been feeling reached its peak, and it was all she could do but pull his ginger hair out of his head. She was moaning and writhing and doing all other sorts of of promiscuous things under the shield of the darkness. Ron's body was all of the sudden covering hers and she grasped onto him, grinding herself against him as the pleasure faded.

"Bloody hell, woman. You're going to make me start balding if we keep this up," he chuckled against her forehead before kissing it.

She blushed a bright red color that she was happy he couldn't see. "That's a little dramatic, Ron."

"Not really, Hermione. You're quite the wild one, aren't you?."

"I don't know what you mean," she said primly.

Ron snorted. "Sure, love," he replied in a manner that implied he wasn't buying it.

They laid in silence for a few minutes, and Ron began to breathe deeply again, apparently ready for another round of sleep. She had read once that men routinely became tired after sexual exploits.

She wanted to clear the air with him before he drifted off.

"Ron?"

"Yeah?"

"Am _I_ forgiven?"

"Of course, love. Can't stay mad at you for long," he said. She smiled in the darkness.

"Oh, and Ron?"

"Yeah?"

"Remind me to thank Bill."

* * *

 _Author's note: I feel like the physical part of their relationship is important, and I love imagining how this new aspect of their relationship would have allowed them to express their feelings in a different way. Any opinions on this aspect? As I always say I had a vision for this story from the beginning, but I'm still trying to decide how sexually explicit I should make things, and whether or not it is good for the plot. Thanks!_


	50. Chapter 50

With Ron drifting back into a deep sleep, Hermione lay in the bed for what had to be a few hours, until the sun began to rise. She sighed and rolled off the bed and landed on the soft carpeted floor with a huff, having drastically underestimated the space between the bed and the floor. She grabbed her wand off the bedside table and lit it with a quietly whispered " _lumos_ " before using it to guide the way to her beaded bag which sat on a nearby chair. Sticking her hand far down into the bag and feeling around, she grabbed a new phone book, settled down on the plush chair in the corner of the large room, cast a silencing spell around her, and set to work.

Hours went by, and Hermione found herself experiencing a cycle of emotions every few minutes: become excited yet nervous while dialing a new number, feel her heart in her throat when she inquired for a Dr. Wilkins, feel it sink to her stomach when the answer was no, then muster up enough energy to carry on and dial another number.

Eventually, Hermione let out a moan of frustration, slamming the book she was currently holding down on the ground, then hastily bending down to pick it up when she remembered it was borrowed. She sighed, relenting to taking a break for now, and gently placed the telephone book on a nearby table.

Turning to grab her beaded bag, she made her way to the loo in an effort to bathe before Ron woke. Immediately, her eyes sought out the spacious bathtub, and she quickly shut the door and began to strip her clothes off, suddenly feeling grimy in the clothing she had worn for more than 24 hours. She bent down to pick her trousers up and gasped.

For half a year, her body had been too malnourished; too traumatized to sustain another life. Too unhealthy. Put on hold until further notice. After being hit with an unforgivable curse more than twenty times, the possibility of remaining barren had pledged the back of her mind. Now, after so long, she had finally gotten her period.

This was a sign that maybe there was not as much damage as she had feared. Of course, there could still be a multitude of issues going on inside her body, but this confirmed that there was at least now a possibility of being able to carry another life inside of her someday. Bellatrix could not take that away from her. She could have children one day; half-blood children, something she knew the Death Eater would have an absolute deep repugnance for. That thought made it all the more satisfying.

Hermione felt herself welling up a bit as she walked back out into the room to retrieve her beaded bag. She stifled a giggle as she thought how absurd it was that she was almost crying tears of happiness over something she used to dread every month, but she didn't care. _Finally_ , something normal was happening to her.

Maybe now, Ron would not insist she see a healer. If her body was finally working normally, there really would be no reason to. However, she shook that thought off quickly, knowing he would tell her this was only part of it; that they did not know anything for sure. He would be right, of course, though she did not like to admit it. And, she had promised him. That was really the crux of the matter. She could not take back her word now.

Hermione returned to the loo and turned the faucet on, allowing the bathtub to fill with warm water and doing the spell that would change it to different colors. She then stepped into the bath and sunk down slowly, reveling in the warmth around her tired muscles. Her head rested against the porcelain, and she stared up at the ceiling, trying to relax but ultimately giving in to her worrisome thoughts.

This whole mission was proving to be much more difficult and frustrating than she had anticipated. Of course, Hermione supposed it was a good thing that they were having difficulty finding her parents, because it meant the Death Eaters would have as well. However, she was growing increasingly impatient. They were _so_ close. So close to ending this disaster that had been the past year of her life. If they could just find her parents and reverse the spell, then everything could be reset, could it not? Back to the way things were before. Almost as if nothing had happened…

Hermione quickly shook her head and chastised herself for thinking that way. It could never go back to the way it was before. Now, everything was irrevocably changed. Fred was gone, along with so many others. She would be going back to Hogwarts for the first time without Ron and Harry. And no matter what her parents' reaction was to what she had done to them, she could not take it back. It would always be looming over them as a family.

Of course, her long rambling thoughts eventually turned to Ron. At least she was happy about one of the changes. Ron had gone from her friend to her boyfriend in the past year, and she definitely did not want to reset that.

Hermione thought back to their activities last night, or was it early this morning? Either way, while it had been brilliant, she did not want to get too distracted. While Ron seemed to be able to compartmentalize different aspects of his life, she found that ability much harder to come by. She couldn't help but feel a bit guilty about getting off with her boyfriend while on a mission to find her poor obliviated parents. Of course, Ron would not see it that way and would say she was barmy if she told him that.

After what she could only assume was the better part of an hour, she reluctantly rose from the tub, set on getting dressed and then waking Ron. She felt around in her beaded bag for her box of feminine products, rolling her eyes as she remembered how awkward Harry and Ron had been when they were digging through her bag for a vial of something or other last year and accidentally pulled it out. The two of them had sputtered and hastily shoved it back in, then proceeded to not make eye contact with her for the rest of the evening. She rolled her eyes again. _Boys_.

Just as she was finishing getting ready for the day, she heard Ron's voice through the door.

"Hermione? Hermione?" He sounded concerned. "Hermione, where are you? Hermione?"

She opened the loo door and waved at him, seeing the look of panic instantly wash away from his face.

"Bloody hell, Hermione. Don't scare me like that," he sighed, walking toward her.

"My using the loo scares you?" she teased.

"No, you not being next to me when I wake up scares me," Ron replied honestly, then kissed her forehead and rested the bottom of his chin on the top of her head. "With all the fucked up shite that's happened in the past year, I can't seem to rule anything out in my head until I see you; see proof you're okay."

Immediately, her mind went from a teasing mode to a serious mode. Had she not panicked when she had woken up one night to find Ron not there because he had gone to the loo? Suddenly, she understood what he saying.

"Don't worry; I'm fine," she said, rubbing his back gently. "Got a bit of work done before you woke, actually."

His eyebrows rose in interest. "Yeah? Find anything?"

She sighed in defeat, looking down at his large feet standing across from her much smaller ones. "No."

"Hey, look at me," Ron said softly, grabbing the bottom of her chin and gently pulling her head back up to meet his eyes. "We're gonna find them, okay?"

She nodded in response. "I know. We have to. I'm not leaving until we do."

"Me either," Ron replied. "Love, this is only our first full day here. Let me take a shower, we'll get some breakfast, then we'll get to work, alright?"

"Okay. You go ahead. I'll order room service," she said, motioning toward the spacious shower.

Ron looked perplexed. "Room service…?"

"Oh! Yes, well I suppose you wouldn't know. In muggle hotels, you can call down to the kitchen and order food to be delivered to your room."

Ron's eyes lit up. "That's brilliant! But you yell, all the way from here? How far away are the kitchens?"

She giggled. "No, Ron. You call them on the telephone. There should be a list of numbers for different areas of the hotel somewhere. I'll find it and call down. Now mind you, room service is usually very expensive… Mum and Dad hardly ever ordered it when we went away on holidays… but then again Kingsley _did_ say to spare no expense…"

Ron shushed her. "Hermione, order everything in the kitchen if you want to. Those ignorant fucks at the ministry can bloody well pay for it."

"Ron!" she chastised.

"What? First they cut Dad's wages, then they fuck up our portkey? I say we spend as much as we want. Go use the telly-phone. I'll get washed up."

She gave him one more half-hearted chastising look before turning to walk out of the loo. Ron was already walking toward the spacious shower with a see through glass door, so she shut the door behind her and made her way to the telephone.

She ordered a simple meal for herself; just some toast with jam and some scrambled eggs. She didn't really have much of an appetite this morning, but she knew Ron would. He always did. Hermione stared at the menu with the ridiculously outrageous prices for a few seconds, before deciding to hell with it; she'd order almost everything on the menu. Ron was right; they did deserve this. And anyway, it's not as though the food would go to waste; he would most definitely eat everything.

She placed their order and laid her head down on the plush pillows, then gazed around the room. Simply put, it was beautiful. Pretty paintings hung on the walls and expensive furniture littered the floor. The thread count on the duvet alone must have been in the thousands. However, she much rather preferred Ron's quidditch posters, rotting old desk, and worn orange blanket.

Suddenly, the door swung open and Ron walked out, clutching a towel low on his hips. "Need your bloody beaded bag…" he was muttering, searching around for her bag.

Hermione blushed as she pointed to the nearby table, still unable to treat his near nudity with nonchalance. He must have noticed the color in her cheeks, because he wiggled his eyebrows at her and winked. She merely turned her head and stuck her nose up in the air with a huff, trying to maintain some of her dignity.

Ron chuckled and turned, walking back into the loo to change. He was back out not even a minute later, fully clothed this time, and hopped up to join her on the bed.

"Morning," Ron said, grabbing her head and lightly pulling her toward him, then placing a kiss on her lips. He gripped the back of her neck and tried to pull her down on top of him, but she resisted, trying to remain in a sitting position. This was valuable time that should be spent calling dentist offices, not snogging or anything else. Plus, she did not think she was comfortable with doing anything more than snogging when she was on this part of her cycle just yet. She saw him frown and pull her again, so she placed a hand on his chest and pulled away slightly.

"Ron, breakfast will be here soon…"

"Yeah, but it's not here yet. Let me just-"

A knock at the door cut him off. "Room service!" a female voice on the other side of the door called.

"See? There it is," Hermione said, jumping up and rushing to open the door. "Oh! I almost forgot to take down the protective enchantments!" Otherwise, the muggle would not be able to see them.

"Woah woah woah! Don't go taking them down just yet! We don't know who's on the other side of that door," Ron asserted.

"Ron, it's the maid with our breakfast," she replied, thinking this was just another part of room service he did not understand.

"How do you know?" Ron asked the question again.

"What do you mean? I ordered food for us."

"Yeah, but how do you _know_?" Ron asked the question more forcefully.

She paused, catching up with his line of thinking. "You think there's someone out for us on the other side of that door?"

"Probably not, but I wouldn't put it past those fuckers. Let me just make sure…"

She nodded, agreeing with Ron that it was better to be safe than sorry. He walked over to the door and bent his knees slightly to become eye level with the peep hole.

"Looks like a muggle woman…just to be sure… _Accio_ wand!" Ron suddenly shouted, obviously not using _Expelliarmus_ because if the woman was indeed a muggle he surely could not hit her with any sort of spell. Her wand flew from the bedside table across the room and into Ron's hand; Hermione assumed the woman did not have a wand on her because she did not hear anything bang against the outside of the door.

"Okay… should be alright. You go wait in the loo, I'll only take the enchantments down in this room just in case."

"What? No!" she yelled.

Ron sighed. "Fine, here. Just have your wand at the ready," he replied, handing her wand back to her. She nodded, motioning for him to open the door.

The maid pushed a large cart into the room, loaded with what must be, as Ron had suggested she order, the entire kitchen. The cart was overflowing with food.

"Will that be all, Mr. and Mrs. Smith?" the maid asked.

Hermione once again rolled her eyes at the name Kingsley had given them. "Yes, thank you." Hermione said politely, then quickly grabbed a few muggle bills out of her bag and handed it to the maid. The woman nodded and walked out of their hotel room, closing the door quietly behind her. She heard Ron sigh in relief.

"Hermione! This is fucking brilliant!" Ron exclaimed as he surveyed the cart. "Why did you give the muggle money?"

"It's customary to give hotel employees tips if they do things like carry your bags or bring you room service," she explained.

"Oh," Ron replied in understanding. "Let me do it next time, yeah?"

She was about to retaliate and say that she could contribute money as well, but bit her tongue again, remembering her promise to allow him to be more 'manly' as he called it.

"Sure," was her reply. The look of shock yet gratitude on Ron's face told her she had said the right thing. "Ron! Wait!" she suddenly screamed, as he picked up a piece of bacon and was about to put it in his mouth.

"What?" Ron asked, alarmed.

She smiled sheepishly. "Well, you know, because we're being cautious and everything, don't you think we might want to check the food? I mean, I know it's a long shot, but someone could have posioned it if they knew we were in this room."

Ron grinned at her. "I like the way you're thinking." She knew he wanted her to be more cautious about everything. Although she did not want to always assume the worst, Ron did have a point; why take any chances?

"Stand back," she ordered, raising her wand and pointing it at the food. " _Posionus Revelio_." Nothing happened. "It's safe," she informed him.

"Brilliant!" Ron exclaimed, diving back into the food and towering as much as he could on a plate.

As she munched on her toast, she put together a plan of action for the day.

"Alright, Ron. I say we each take a list of numbers, and start calling. I'll grab the telephone from the other room and bring it in here."

Their current domain was actually a large suite, with multiple rooms, televisions, and telephones. She shuffled into the next room over and grabbed the telephone that was plugged into the wall, then walked back to where Ron was still standing with all the food.

"Here, let me see you dial a number, just to make sure you are doing it right," she insisted, grabbing the book she had not finished with yet and setting it down on the bed.

Ron hesitated, then grabbed the phone from her hand and bravely, yet very carefully and slowly, pressed the combination of numbers she was pointing to. She could hear a faint ringing, and knew he had at least managed to call someone.

"HELLO?" he suddenly screamed, startling her.

"Ron! Shh! You're speaking entirely too loud!" she whispered harshly, and he smiled sheepishly at her before pressing his ear back to the phone carefully and speaking in a more normal tone of voice.

"Er, sorry 'bout that. So um, does a Dr. Wilkins work at this place...? Oh. Okay. Thanks anyway." He hung up and turned to her, shaking his head.

She strained her face in an attempt to not look forlorn. "It's okay. We'll just keep trying."

He nodded, and so they set to work, each of them sitting on the bed and calling number after number, only to come up short time and time again. Hermione was beginning to wonder just how many dentist offices there were in Australia.

* * *

Hours later, it was beginning to get dark outside, and Hermione suddenly realized that she and Ron had actually spent an entire day making phone calls. Grant it, it was not the worst day they had ever spent together, but it certainly was not the best.

She let out a groan of frustration, and jumped up, suddenly unable to concentrate any longer. "I have to take a break Ron. I need another bath," she mumbled, already stumbling toward the loo. She needed to relax and destress.

"Go ahead, love. I'm just gonna try a few more, then maybe I'll join you," he said with a wink.

"No, you most certainly will not! I haven't the faintest idea why you continue attempting to take a bath with me," she replied, trying to sound offended but failing miserably. Of course she knew why. And, if was she was being honest, she would most definitely be open to the idea of it happening someday. _Someday_ being the key word.

"Fine by me; I'm just biding my time. When it does happen maybe you can throw in showing me one of those spells as well. Ya know, sort of a two for one deal?" he suggested, grinning at her.

Hermione blushed, and turned away from him before her face got too red. She scurried off to the loo, shutting the door quickly. She sat down on the edge of the porcelain bathtub, about to flick her wand to turn the water on when she heard it.

"Hermione?" Ron croaked from the other side of the room.

"Yes?" she answered, thinking she was in for another round of teasing.

"I...I think I found them."

She sat up so quickly that she tumbled off the side of the tub and onto the floor.

"What!? Ron, are you serious!?" she screamed from where she lay, overjoyed.

"Yeah… I mean… they say a Monica and Wendell Wilkins work here… so if it's not them then that's a pretty big coincidence."

"Oh, Ron!" she squealed, jumping up from where she was sprawled across the tiled floor and bounding into the bedroom, then leapt into his arms. Her hands flew around his neck and her legs wrapped around his waist, and she snogged him with all her might, trying to put all of her feelings into a kiss.

She was still peppering his cheeks with tiny kisses as he thanked the receptionist on the other end of the phone.

"Ron! You're so brilliant! Thank you! Thank you!"

Ron shrugged. "It just as easily could have been you, Hermione."

"No!" she shouted, shaking her head. "See, I did need you to come with me! You found them!"

Ron smiled at her. "Well, glad I could do something."

"Something!? Ron, this is everything! Where is the office located!?"

Ron pointed at the address in the book. Her smile faltered a bit. "What's wrong, love?" he asked.

She sighed. "Oh, well, that location is halfway across the country…"

"So? We get another portkey, then."

"Yes, but we'll have to write to Kingsley to ask for that exact location… it could take few days…"

"Well, we could wait it out here. Reckon there's plenty of things we could do in the meantime…" he said suggestively, wiggling his eyebrows at her.

"But I don't want to wait! I want to get moving, now!" Honestly, she wanted to get going before she lost her nerve to finally find them and reverse the spell. "We could go by muggle transportation…"

Ron looked unsure. "I don't know, Hermione. What exactly do you have in mind?"

"Well, we could take an aeroplane-"

"One of those barmy muggle contraptions that flies in the air? No way," Ron said, shaking his head.

"Oh honestly, Ron, they're usually quite safe."

"Yeah, _usually_. What if someone finds out we bought tickets? I don't fancy the idea of us being trapped in some muggle box with a Death Eater a few thousand kilometers in the air. Why take any chances when a portkey is a one hundred percent guarantee?"

"Because I want to get going now, before I lose my nerve," she admitted.

Ron's face softened. "Well...alright. Is there anything other than an airy-plane? I don't trust it, Hermione. How the hell do the muggles get it to fly without magic?"

"With the help of great technological minds, and years of trial and error, that's how. It would be fine. But, if you're really uncomfortable with the idea, we could take a train."

"A train?" Ron's eyes lit up. "Like the Hogwarts Express?"

"Well, in a way, yes. But not magical, of course. There will be no trolley filled with chocolate frogs."

Ron frowned. "No trolley? What kind of a train is that?"

"A muggle train, Ronald. Now, are we agreed? I really want to set off tomorrow morning. I don't want to wait for the Ministry this time. And, I'd like to do something the muggle way as well."

Ron contemplated what she had said. "Alright. We can ride the muggle train. Even if it doesn't have any chocolate frogs."

"Thank you," she said, leaning in to kiss his nose. She realized they had had the entire conversation while Ron was still holding her in his arms.

"Of course. I'd do anything for you, Hermione. Except ride in one of those airy-planes. I don't trust those things," he said with a smirk.

She giggled. "Even though you're being ridiculous, I suppose I can accept your aversion to aeroplanes."

Ron smiled at her and walked them over to the bed, where he laid her down and got on top of her. They snogged for a few minutes, then he began to creep his hand up her leg.

"Ron, maybe we should get ready for bed and go to sleep."

Ron frowned at her. "Not that I'm opposed to you sleeping, Hermione, but you usually don't want to. What's going on?"

She sighed. "I'm starting to feel a bit… guilty."

Ron furrowed his brow. "Guilty? About what?"

"Well, it's just that… you know… we've been doing a lot together, and it has been wonderful… but is it right for us to be a couple of randy teenagers when my poor parents are out there with their minds wiped, with no clue as to who they are?"

"Hermione, one of those things has nothing to do with the other. That's bar-"

"Yes, barmy. I knew you would say that!"

"Well, it is! What's wrong with us having a bit of fun?"

"I don't know, Ronald. I'm starting to have trouble with separating the two things."

"Well, try not to. I don't think your parents would mind you enjoying yourself."

She smirked. "Oh really? So you think my father would be fine with everything we've done?"

Ron paled. "Bloody hell. Don't say shite like that, Hermione."

She giggled. "And, well, there's another reason I'm not exactly in the mood right now. Only, I didn't want to bother you with what the reason was."

Ron looked concerned. "What? What's going on?"

She nodded, giving in. "Well… remember how I said I was having those… 'woman problems' as you called them?"

He nodded slowly, still looking confused.

"Well, I don't have them anymore. I've started my cycle again."

Ron stared at her for a second, and just when she thought he was going to fervently tell her that he did not need to know about this, his face split into a grin. "Hermione… that's brilliant! Why didn't you tell me?"

Her eyebrows rose in surprise. "Well, it's not exactly something you announce. I've had my period around you many times throughout the years and never felt the need to tell you then."

"But this means your body systems are looking better than you thought, right? And it means you can, well, have children, right?"

"Yes. I think so. There's a much better chance now, anyway." She was trying to keep herself from crying. She knew if she spoke much more the dam would burst.

Ron must have seen the look on her face, because he spoke up with concern. "What's wrong, love?"

"N-nothing. I just…" Her voice cracked. "I t-thought that maybe I wouldn't be able to. I was trying to act like I didn't care, but I d-do, Ron. I d-didn't realize how much the idea of being a m-mother appealed to me until it was t-taken away," she said shakily, unable to keep the tears from falling.

"Shh," Ron said, wiping her tears and kissing the top of her head. "It's okay, Hermione."

She smiled at him even though she knew by this point her face must be all sorts of red and puffy.

"Well, I would say for once things are starting to look up for us," Ron said as he gently wiped more of her tears away.

"Yes...maybe they are," she conceded.

And for the first time in a long time, she actually believed it.

* * *

Author's note: thanks for continuing to follow and review, even though I've been scarce lately. I'm trying to get a degree so I can be a productive member of society and what not.

Chapter-wise, I just felt like this would be a good time to have a few things go right for them. Also, the whole Hermione possibly being barren thing was always something I thought about since the first time I read the torture scene. I mean, if Neville's parents went that insane, there's no telling exactly what the Crutiatus curse can do to you. Hermione is always the studious and hardworking type, but when it comes down to it I think she would have wanted to balance a career and a family. She has a very nurturing side that I think would have come to fruition when she had children. She is obviously very smart, so logically she knows exactly what it could have done to her. But then again, she is also human, and a woman. I think any woman finding out she can't have children, especially at such a young age, is most often very devestating. So, she has been coping with the possibility by not thinking about it too much, or trying to seem nonchalant, when she obviously does care. I wanted to add it to the story to reveal different layers of her personality, as well as add to the continuing struggle she has been facing, which is: what exactly does it mean to be a woman? Or, more importantly, what does being a woman mean to her?

Also, it seemed like a few people thought that Hermione was using sex as a weapon against Ron, which wasn't how I meant it to come off. I just wanted her to assert that she wanted to better their relationship by talking about their arguements before doing anything else, whether it be sexual or not. I thought that having her stop them in the middle of snogging would make for a bit of comic relief. Anyway, I always welcome critisism so definitly don't stop that just wanted to say my point of view.

Whew, that was a lot. If you read through all of that I applaud you, and encourage you to tell me what you think!


	51. Chapter 51

The train rumbled and shook beneath her feet as she sat next to Ron in their little compartment, her head on his shoulder and his arm around her as they both gazed out the window, enjoying the Australian countryside. She sighed in contentment, enjoying the comfort of Ron next to her as the train gently swayed their bodies in a soothing manner.

"It's not much like the Hogwarts Express, but I reckon this is still my favorite train ride we've ever taken together," Ron said quietly in her ear through her mass of bushy hair.

"Yes, it has been rather nice, hasn't it?" she agreed, snuggling even closer into his larger body.

"Can you imagine Harry's reaction if he would have caught us in a compartment like this on our way to sixth year?" Ron inquired in what she took to be a half joking and half wistful manner.

"Something tells me he would not have been too surprised," Hermione answered truthfully. "Quite honestly, Ron, I'm beginning to think that no one would have been surprised. Ginny told me that even Slytherin house knew about the two of us."

"Knew what? What did those fuckers think?" Ron asked in annoyance.

"That we fancied each other, Ronald."

"Oh. Well...everyone knew? Bloody hell, you would have thought one of my good for nothing roommates would have had the decency to tell me."

She giggled into his shoulder. "Would that have made a difference?"

Ron sighed. "Probably not. I probably wouldn't have believed them, on account of you being too good for me and everything-" she started to protest, but he caught her off "-don't even try it, love. You know I'll never agree with you."

She huffed. "Fine...although…if you had done something…"

Ron looked at her in curiosity as she trailed off.

"It's just that I probably would have been head girl our seventh year...with that big room all to myself…"

Ron scoffed. "Probably? You had that position coming to you since first year." Suddenly, his eyebrows rose in realization. "Oh, you meant the head girl's room…"

She nodded and burrowed her head back into his shoulder. "Something tells me you would have become very familiar with it. Much more so than any male student was intended to be…"

"Ugh. Don't tease me with that, love," Ron groaned. Then, he perked up. "You know... when you get head girl this year… we could still make that happen…"

She inhaled sharply upon being abruptly reminded about the time after this summer; the summer filled with the love that had grown between them.

"What's wrong?" Ron asked, clearly sensing her tensness.

"Going back... I don't want to think about it…" she muttered.

Ron pivoted quickly in his seat, grasping her by the chin and forcing her to look into his eyes. "Hermione… everything will be okay." When she started to protest, he shushed her. "No, listen. You'll go back, be head girl, have a great time with Ginny, and be the top of the class. I'll stay here and work. But you know what? We'll see each other whenever we can, and we'll make it work. It's less than a year, love."

"But we've already waited so long! I want to be with you; now!"

"You are with me. No ruddy distance is going to change that. I promise that whenever we can, we'll be together. I'll sneak into your dorm room and we'll shag as many times as it takes to prove it to you," he added with a wink.

Her stomach flipped at his words and she blushed. She searched his eyes for a moment before smiling through her sadness and whispering, "Promise?"

Ron nodded his head in a overly serious manner. "Cross my heart."

Oh, but to only be at that point already. To have found her parents, and have finished her degree, and already suffered this year apart from Ron. Then it could just be the two of them; for real this time, with no obstacles in the way. Maybe they would have a small flat somewhere, and she would wake up in his arms every morning, with no worries of Mrs. Weasley discovering them because they would be in their own home. And she would get up and go to a job that she loved; one where she made a real difference in the world. And she would have mastered the art of cooking, and would be able to make the two of them a home cooked meal. Then it would just be her and Ron, together, with nothing to do and nowhere to go. He would take her in his arms and tell her how much he loved her, and they would go to their own bed, and make love, only to fall asleep in each others arms. And she would fall asleep knowing that she would never have to spend another day without him; that those days were behind her forever...

She halted her thoughts. Why did she constantly find herself wishing away time? Was that normal? Would life be more or less extraordinary if one could fast forward to the good parts? If she could use a time turner to get to the wonderful normalcy she so desperately craved with Ron, she would be missing those few and far between days of seeing him between now and then. And what about all of that sneaking around he had mentioned? It did sound rather exciting. Of course, she dreamt of a normal life with Ron, but maybe she could find some happiness in the journey of getting there. If she were to fast forward to immediately get to her parents, she would miss this breathtaking view of the Australian countryside.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" she commented, nodding her head toward their view out the window.

Ron shifted his head and took in the view, then smiled. "Sure is."

"Maybe this is part of it," she mused out loud.

"Part of what? Ron asked absentmindedly.

"Enjoying things like this view. I've been waiting for something monumental to happen; a sign that we've done the right thing in spite of all the death and destruction we've been a part of. We've seen so much of it..."

The sun was beginning to set on the countryside now. More shades of yellow and orange than she had ever thought existed scattered the scenery, and streaks of purple and pink lit up the sky. Her mind started to roam, and the beauty of this inexplicable world they lived in caused her to she become increasingly introspective. A thought that had been plaguing her for the past month abruptly invaded its way into her mind.

"I've killed people, Ron," she whispered suddenly.

Ron stayed silent for a few seconds. "You had to," he answered quietly as they continued to stare out the window.

"But I've ended a life, Ron. What gives me the right?"

"You were fighting for your own life. We all were. I've killed people too. Hell, my own mother, who I always thought never had a mean bone in her body…" Ron trailed off, obviously realizing that in a roundabout way he was speaking of Bellatrix.

"Am I no better than her?" she asked Ron quietly.

"Who? Mum?"

"No. Her." She emphasized, clearing communicating that she meant Bellatrix. "I'm a murderer, too."

"Hermione, don't fucking say that," Ron said forcefully. "Don't you dare. There's a difference."

She sighed in response and continued to stare out the window. What was the difference, exactly? A life was still a life. She knew what Ron would say. He would say that it was self defense; that they would have gladly killed her without a second thought if she had not gotten them first. He would say that they were evil people; people who did not deserve to live. He would say it was necessary in order to win a war; that they were soldiers in an army and that was what soldiers did. He would say that she had better promise him she would do the same thing again if she ever had to.

"What do you think my parents would think of it if they knew?" Hermione inquired, ignoring his insistence that she was innocent in her actions. "What will they say when I tell them?" she asked, and realized for the first time that she was talking as if it was a certainty that they would find them.

"You don't have to tell them, love," Ron answered.

"No," she shook her head. "No more lies. I'm going to tell them everything, then let them decide what they want to do. It will be their choice this time. If they wish to never speak to me again, at least they'll have their own free will to make the decision. I won't ever use magic on them again."

"Hermione, can you honestly tell me that you think they won't ever talk to you again? I know I've never met them, but I can't imagine they're too different from my parents."

"Yes, but your parents understand. Mine… they couldn't possibly comprehend the severity of what happened; of why I had to do what I did."

"We'll make them understand. We'll explain everything to them, and-"

"No, Ron!" she interrupted, causing him to flinch. " _You_ don't understand, sometimes! They are muggles. They haven't spent one day in the magical world! They can't understand different kinds of magic; that dark magic exists and what it can do when harnessed by a powerful and skilled wizard. They don't know that some can be much better than others at magic. They didn't even know I was the top of my class by far; that I was skilled! They think our world is something similar to the magic in muggle fairy tales!"

"And whose fault is that?" Ron asked, challenging her.

" _What_?"

"Whose fault is that? You're the one who said you never told them anything. You're the one who sugar coated everything, Hermione. That's why they don't understand. But we can change that. I know they might not ever completely get it, but we can make it a lot better. I mean, I don't really understand much about anything muggle, but you're teaching me stuff every day. Hell, you got me onto this train, didn't you?" Ron asked, motioning to their current surrounding.

She paused, momentarily taken aback by his statements. He was right. Maybe her parents' inability to understand her world didn't so much come from the fact that they were muggles, but more so due to the amount of information she had held from them. Maybe her insistence that they would never understand was something she had told herself for so long to cover up the guilt she had been feeling deep down about keeping so much of her life from them.

Maybe she had been selfish. Maybe she had been terrified that if they knew, she would be taken from the world she had grown to so ardently love; where she finally felt like she belonged. Maybe she had also been afraid that if she lost that world, she would lose the wonderful people she had met there; Ron most of all. And all of this would have happened because maybe deep down she knew that much like Ron had suggested, her parents loved her unconditionally, and would have wanted to keep her away from the perilous circumstances that always seemed to follow her around when she inhabited the world she loved so much.

"You won't have to do it alone, you know. I'll be there with you, if you'd like me to be," Ron said, interrupting her from her thoughts.

"I might like that," she responded quietly. Ron nodded against her head.

"Hey, want to lay down, love? It's been a long day," Ron inquired, jerking his head toward the small cot in the corner of their tiny train compartment.

"Not just yet, but you should," she insisted, noting the dark circles under his eyes.

Ron looked uncertain for a second, but then nodded. "Alright, but promise me you won't leave, okay? We've already set the enchantments; lets just stay in here for the rest of the night." Ron looked a bit apprehensive, as if he thought she was going to insist on taking a lone stroll around the train in the middle of the night.

"I won't leave. I promise," she assured him. Maybe a year ago it would have bothered her that Ron insisted she not go anywhere without him, but now she knew what it felt like to worry so ardently about his safety when they were apart, and could not blame his insistence that she stay close to him. She felt the same way.

"Brilliant," Ron said with a relieved smile. He kissed her on the top of her head and then walked over to the small cot and laid down, having to slightly bend his legs to fit his long body.

As Ron began to quietly snore in the corner, she stood up and began to magic away any signs of magic in their compartment; lest a muggle train conductor somehow get a look inside and wonder how they suddenly had two large trunks when they had not paid for luggage to be on board.

Ron's trunk was haphazardly propped open, and just as she was about to shut it and reduce it back down to a size that would fit easily in her beaded bag, she noticed something bonded to the inside of his trunk with a sticking charm.

It was a photograph Hermione had never seen before, but all of the sudden could distinctly remember taking. Fred had taken this picture. She and Ron had been lounging out on a blanket near the pond at the burrow the summer before 6th year; before Harry had arrived. She was staring down at her brand new 6th year spell book in her lap, and Ron was fiddling with something or other that he had grabbed from his father's shed. Fred had called to them, and they both looked up, caught off guard but the camera's sudden flash. They both smiled and waved at the camera, then Hermione looked back down and returned to her book. Ron, however, turned his head toward her, and his eyes softened in a way that Hermione had never thought 16-year-old Ron's eyes could. He smiled as he stared longingly at her, and smirked when she furrowed her brow at whatever complicated spell she had been reading at the time.

She traced the contours of his face lightly with her finger, silently cursing the photograph Hermione for having her nose too buried in a book to recognize the adoring looks being thrown her way.

Fred had taken this picture, and as she gazed out the window one last time at the setting sun, she felt tears prick her eyes. Fred would never see another sunset. Those whose lives she had ended never would again either. It was all very surreal to think about.

 _But her parents would_ , she reminded herself, and that was because of what she had done. Maybe she could begin to forgive herself for deceiving them, if her deception in wiping their memories and sending them away to the safety of Australia allowed them just one more day of being in the presence of this beauty.

And as the train continued its peaceful journey toward their desired destination, she could not help but wonder if her parents were watching the same sunset as her in that moment.

 _I'm coming_ , Hermione thought in her head, as if somehow she could communicate to her parents through the inexplicable beauty of the world she had helped save.

 _I'm coming._

* * *

 _Author's note: If you have continued to follow me during the months I've been away, thanks! I'm going to finish this story; no matter how long it takes me!_


	52. Chapter 52

_BANG! BANG! BANG!_

 _The sound of Ron pounding the cellar door with his bare fists echoed through the walls and floor boards straight through her; right into her heart._

 _"HERMIONE! HERMIONE! HERMIONE!"_

 _His tormented voice cut her soul like a knife. She couldn't move; could barely breathe with Bellatrix's heavy weight pinning her to the floor..._

BANG!

The loud noise caused Hermione to shoot up into a sitting position on the little cot she shared with Ron, disoriented from being so harshly woken.

She fumbled in the dark for her wand, desperately hoping that she was still dreaming.

BANG!

"What the fuck!?" Ron shouted, reaching for his wand under his pillow and using it to flick the muggle light switch on.

BANG!

Ron's eyes lit up in a slight panic, and he turned and grabbed her by the shoulders. "Get your bag, we're leaving." He was already up and darting around the room, muttering spells to check the strength of their protective enchantments.

BANG!

Mufflied harsh voices could be heard out in the hall, and the screams of muggles echoed through the train.

"The Mudblood and blood traitor aren't in this one," an eerily familiar voice said.

"Keep looking! We'll kill every worthless muggle on this train if we have to!"

 _Oh no_ , she thought in dread. _Death Eaters. So they had been tracking them after all._

"LET'S FUCKING GO, HERMIONE!" Ron screamed at her, and she stared at him, momentarily taken aback by the harshness of his voice. He grabbed her hand roughly and was about to turn on the spot to disapparate, when she jerked her hand away. He looked at her in apparent shock.

"No, Ron, if it's us they've come for, they won't stop until they've blown open every door and killed every muggle here!"

Ron looked at her wildly; as if she were mad. "Hermione, we need to go! Now!"

"No! We need to let them see us! Then they'll know we were here but we got away!"

Ron looked like he might be sick. "No! No, Hermione! Please! Don't do this!"

"Ron-"

"I'll stay," he interrupted. "I'll stay, and you disapparate to…" -he was obviously desperately trying to thinking of a destination in Australia that they both knew.- "...that muggle library we were in! I'll let them see me, and we'll meet there!"

She shook her head again, and Ron looked even more desperate. "No, they have to know both of us were here."

BANG! Another blast, and this time the sound was closer than ever before.

"Hermione, please! Please! Please leave! I'm begging you!" Ron cried.

"I can't, Ron," she whispered, tears leaking from her eyes when she saw how heartbroken he looked.

"Hermione, no!" Ron all but sobbed.

"One second; that's all it will take for them to see us and for us to dissaparate!" She was already walking toward the door, ready to thrust it open once Ron grabbed her hand.

Ron nodded in defeat, and grabbed her, pushing her behind him. "I'll blast the door open so they'll turn our way. Stay behind me."

"But-"

"I said stay behind me, Hermione!" Ron growled. "I'll dissaperate us."

"Alright," she said quietly, grabbing his hand.

"On three," he squeezed her hand tightly. "One, two, three- _BOMBARDA_!"

Their door blasted open, and before she had the chance to make out any faces, a curse was immediately shot their way.

" _Avada Kedavra_!"

Ron yanked her to the ground as a jet of green light whizzed over their heads. She was now pinned to the floor by his larger body, and his wandless hand covered her head.

" _Avada Kedavra_!"

Her heart stopped, thinking that another killing curse had been shot their way, but she could just barely make out through Ron's fingers the Death Eaters in the hall dodging a jet of green light, and realized with a combination of horror and awe that Ron had casted the curse.

But suddenly she was spinning through thin air, and Ron's arms were clutching her as if their lives depended on it, which come to think of it was true.

She felt her face smack the cold, dewy grass and heard the whoosh of the train as it whizzed by them. Ron rolled off of her just in time for her to glance up and see the vehicle rush away into the distance.

"Fuck!" Ron muttered.

"Oh God, oh God," Hermione whispered as she shakily pawed at her beaded bag which still remained strapped to her chest, automatically grabbing for the tent.

"No, we have to get farther away from here," Ron said, nodding toward the train tracks.

She nodded in response. "I brought your broom!" she remembered, thanking Merlin that when packing she hadn't neglected Ron's dusty Cleansweep that sat in the corner of the shed.

"Brilliant," Ron said quietly as Hermione riffled around in the bag.

He took the broom from her and mounted it, motioning for her to get on behind him. She hesitated, all her uneasiness with broom riding suddenly hitting her full force.

Ron, however, apparently had no patience for her hesitation. Before she knew what was happening, he grabbed her tightly by the waist and hoisted her onto the broom in front of him instead of behind him, then kicked off the ground. She closed her eyes and did her best not to scream as the ground rushed away from her feet. Ron wrapped one arm around her waist and she felt one of his large hands splayed across her stomach.

"Relax," he murmured in her ear.

They continued to climb higher and higher and she began to shake; partly from the cold and partly from her fright. Finally, Ron leveled the broom out, and she squeezed her eyes shut, willing herself to not look down.

She longed to talk to Ron. She wanted to at least look into his eyes to make sure the light was still there; make sure that horrible green flash had not hit him…

She was trying not to think too much about the fact that Ron had sent a green jet of light right back. An unforgivable killing curse… Oh Merlin, what would happen if the ministry found out? Would they have grounds to prosecute him?

Hermione had caused the death of others by sending a necessary blasting curse that she knew would ultimately fatally wound some of the Death Eaters chasing her, or sending a curse at a Death Eater attacking one of her fellow students that she logically knew would not stop said Death Eater momentarily, but forever. But she had never… casted something _unforgivable_ … a _killing_ curse…

Finally, after what felt like hours, she felt the broom begin to descend, and Ron's grip on her tightened even more to brace her for their impact on the ground. Once their feet touched the ground, Ron maintained his grip on her waist, actually picking her up off the broom and then maintaining his hold on her.

"Ron, you're going to have to let me go if you'd like me to get the tent," she insisted, trying to wiggle out of his grip.

"What? Oh," he replied spacily. He looked around quickly, then gently placed her on the ground.

She procured the tent easily enough, and with a flick of her wand it assembled itself. She turned to Ron, only to find him staring out into the distance with a livid look on his face. She reached her hand up and gently brushed his cheek, and when he flinched and turned to look at her she was almost frightened by what she saw in his eyes.

"Get inside," he all but ordered.

Although taken aback by his tone, she decided not to argue with him. They had had this same row before under much less traumatic circumstances, and it had not been pleasant.

With one last caress of his cheek, she turned and ducked into the tent. Immediately, she spotted the chess set that she and Ron had been playing just the other day still set up at the coffee table. Had that really only been a few days ago? Hermione had no idea what to do, and she was starting to feel on the verge of a panic attack. Shuffling over to her cot, she rolled face down on the mattress, and only when her face was buried in the pillow did she allow herself to cry.

She didn't know how long she had been crying when Ron was suddenly behind her, putting his hand gently on her shoulder and willing her to turn around. Hermione merely scooted over to make room for him, all while continuing to keep her face immersed in the pillow.

Suddenly, Ron was clutching her smaller body to his much larger one, his grip so vice-like that it almost hurt.

"I basically begged you not to do exactly what you just did," Ron muttered into her hair. She could not determine if he was angry, scared, relieved, or a combination of all three. Mostly he just sounded heartbroken.

Her heart sank. "Ron, darling, I told you I wouldn't leave you," she said quietly.

Ron didn't say anything in response, and she was left to wonder exactly what he could be thinking. She really needed to work on her legitimacy skills.

Hermione couldn't believe they had come so close to death yet again. It had begun to become a certainty in her mind that she would now be afforded a future with Ron; that they would get some form of happily ever after. Was nowhere safe? How would she ever be able to live a normal life, if Death Eaters could be lurking around any corner?

Ron began peppering her head with kisses, and she cried a bit harder. "I thought-oh Ron- I thought they were going to-"

"I know love," Ron muttered. It sounded as if he were crying as well.

"Ron… I can't believe… what you did…"

"I don't care. I don't care, Hermione," Ron said. His voice was surprisingly calm. "They don't care about right and wrong. There is no fair to them. So yeah, I'll shoot a hundred fucking killing curses at them. They were trying to kill us; to kill _you_ , love. I told you I'd do anything for you, so I'll kill someone who wants to kill you… I _hope_ I killed them.

"I just… I never thought I would hear those words come out of your mouth," she admitted. "I don't think I could bring myself to say them," she murmured. Ron really was willing to do anything for her; willing to kill for her…

Ron just shrugged and wrapped his arms even tighter around her. "I'm sorry, Hermione. I'm sorry I couldn't keep you safe. I only wanted you to leave to keep you safe…" It almost sounded as if he were in a dreamlike state; in disbelief that he was holding her.

They stopped talking then, and just held each other for what could have been the better part of an hour. She couldn't say for sure; whenever she was this close to Ron the rest of the world seemed to melt away, and with it the laws of space and time.

Finally, she spoke up, breaking their oasis of silence. "Contrary to what you might believe, I like that you want to protect me, Ron. I just get scared about what it might lead to. Please don't feel like you're not being… manly enough… like you were saying before. Because you are."

She was beginning to realize that one of the things Ron seemed to want most in the world was to be seen as a man in her eyes; even if he rarely admitted to it. What else could she do to make him know without a shred of doubt that she had seen him as a man for some time now? He was everything to her- brave, strong, protective, fiercely loyal, heroic. Ron was her proverbial knight in shining armor, however cheesey it sounded.

He didn't respond, but she felt him nod his head against her own and his breath hitch, so she took that to mean he understood what she was trying to stay.

"We'll have to get a new portkey order," she said. She felt terrible that her muggle idea of travel had gone so horribly wrong.

"We're not relying on the ministry anymore," Ron said with an air of disgust.

"But Ron, we can't get there the muggle way! I can't believe I was so stupid as to suggest we travel on a muggle train!" she exclaimed, horrified that they had endangered the muggles. "Ron," she gasped. "The muggles! We need to alert the ministry!"

"Trust me, Hermione, they already know. They're obliviating people as we speak."

"But still, we need to tell the ministry-"

"Hermione! How do you think they found us!? My family and a select few people at the ministry are the only ones who know where we are, and I sure as hell know my family didn't say anything! They have someone on the inside!"

"Then what do you suggest we do, Ron?" she asked, in the back of her mind realizing that he had to be right.

"We'll make our own portkey."

An unregistered portkey? Sure, they had done it before, but that had been when they had taken polyjuice potion to change into Harry in order to transfer him to the burrow. But a member of the Order had created it, which somehow made it seem less wrong...

"Well, maybe we could write Kingsley-"

"No," Ron interrupted. "We're not doing that."

"We're not going to do something rash, Ronald! We need a plan!"

"Fuck, Hermione! Our plans never work anyway!"

She didn't quite know what to say to that, as it was _technically_ true.

"Let's sleep, love," Ron said, his voice taking on a softer tone. "It's the middle of the night. We'll wake up tomorrow and come up with something."

Sleep? To go from the horrors of reality back to the terrors of her unconcious? She nodded quietly, and could just make out Ron's loving smile in the dark.

"I love you," he murmered.

"I love you," she whispered. Eventually, Ron's chest moved in an even pattern; she felt it rising and falling against her head.

Ron had drifted off to the land of dreams. She did not follow him willingly.

* * *

 _Author's note: These two just can't catch a break, can they? In all seriousness, I hoped to convey in this chapter the "all's fair" aspect of this story, and how even though the war is technically over, it is still fresh and threats still linger. As promised, I continue to solider through writing. I have plans and so much in my mind of how this story is going to play out and end- it's just getting it all on paper that takes me so much time, which I don't have a lot of. As always, thanks for reading- I never thought this many people would be interested in my writing, and it is my great joy to be able to entertain so many of you with what I considered to be a hobby. Thanks again!_


	53. Chapter 53

She replayed it all in her head on a loop while sitting rigidly on the small cot, until she was certain she would go mad.

" _The Mudblood and blood traitor aren't in this one_ " She knew that voice; heard it before... who was it?

" _We'll kill every worthless muggle on this train if we have to_ " A tear slipped down her cheek. How many muggles had died? What were their loved ones being told? That it had been some sort of freak gasoline explosion?

Merlin only knew what Ron's family was thinking... but there was no way of communicating with them. It would be too dangerous; the possibility of giving away their location.

Miraculously, she and Ron had managed to sleep well into the afternoon. The second half of her day had consisted of arguing with Ron about what their next move should be, and analyzing what had happened on the train hundreds of times in her head.

"I made the portkey." Ron's voice jerked her out of her troubled thoughts. He held out a chipped tea cup that he had evidently taken from the set she had packed last summer. "Figured this one would be fine to use."

Hermione remained silent, unsure of what to say. Honestly, she was worried that in the worst case it would take them somewhere around the other side of the world, and then they would be even farther away from her parents than she was when at the burrow, and all of their progress thus far would be for nothing. Actually, the worst case scenario could be getting caught with an illegal portkey. That would be just the sort of thing the ministry workers who wanted them banned for life would use to prove their case.

"What, you don't think I did it right?" Ron asked, sounding both annoyed and defeated.

"I don't think either of us could do it right, Ron. Neither of us have made a portkey before." The first part was a lie. She knew both of them were skilled enough at this point to make a portkey.

"No, you don't think I did it right, and you're too much of a rule follower to make one of your own."

"I don't feel comfortable with any of this. It's not right," she muttered as she wrapped her arms around her knees and stared at the cloth tent wall.

"Well right and wrong sort of flew out the window when Death Eaters decided to have some fun and fire a few killing curses our way," Ron said with a weary chuckle.

She turned her head sharply and looked at him with narrowed eyes. "Don't joke about that! ...please." The last word came out as a broken whisper as she lost her composure. Her eyes filled with tears and she looked down at the ground.

"Aw, fuck. Please don't cry, Hermione. I was just trying to make you laugh."

"How could pointing out the fact that a killing curse nearly hit us possibly make me laugh, Ron!? I felt it whizz by right above my head! And if I felt it, Merlin only knows how close it came to you!"

Ron was more than a head taller than her- her face barely came up to his shoulder. If she had felt the spell, it had to have missed him by mere centimetres.

"Well I wasn't thinking about myself," Ron replied, running a hand through his unruly hair.

"Well you should have been! How dare you!" she screamed back, seeing red.

How dare he. How dare he not think about himself. It infuriated her that Ron thought so lowly of the most important person to ever exist in her world; the person she loved more than she ever thought humanly possible- who just so happened to be him.

Ron's eyes narrowed, and his mouth turned into an angry frown. She recognized that look. Here is was- after a few hours of more or less ignoring each other they were finally going to row over her defying his request to leave him in a dangerous situation.

"What the fuck are you talking about, Hermione?" Ron said, rising to his full height and staring her down. She stood up, then crossed her arms and craned her neck to stare back at him. He had gotten much taller since they last had a row that led to them screaming in each other's faces.

"What the _fuck_ am I talking about!? I'm talking about you having no regard for your own life! I'm talking about you cracking jokes about the fact that you almost died last night, Ron!"

"Well, it's not like I'm happy about it, Hermione! I was just trying to cheer you up!"

She let out a high pitched cackle from the absurdity of his statement that she barely recognized as her own voice. "Well, I'm laughing now! I'm laughing at how idiotic that statement you just made was!"

"Oh so now I'm an idiot!?"

"You're sure as hell acting like one!"

"Ha! You're one to talk!"

"Excuse me?" she quietly responded, dumbfounded. No one had ever referred to her as being anything less than brilliant before.

"You want to talk about acting like an idiot!? How about when you didn't listen to me!? I told you to GO!"

"You told me!? _You told me_!? Let's get one thing straight Ronald Weasley-" she saw him visibly wince at her use of his full name, but he held firm to his intimidating stance- " _you_ don't tell _me_ to do anything! I am my own person!"

"Trust me, I bloody well know that! You've made that very clear!"

"Oh, and what's that supposed to mean!?"

Ron ran his fingers through his hair in exasperation. "You're impossible sometimes, you know that? Always needing to prove you can do everything!"

Hermione froze, and felt her enraged demeanor crumple into the frightened outcast muggleborn girl she had once been at school; the girl that still existed inside of her and reared its ugly head more than she would ever care to admit.

Ron knew why she always needed to prove herself. She had told him of her deepest insecurities; her feelings of constant inadequacy in the wizarding world. Was he now throwing that back in her face?

"Love, I'm sorry. Please… please don't cry. I'm just frustrated. I'm not angry with you."

"Well, maybe I'm angry with you," she countered in a small voice, trying with all her might to not allow the tears pooling in her eyes to fall.

Ron's eyebrows rose in a slight panic at the change in her tone. She knew why. When they yelled at each other during Hogwarts, that at least meant a line of communication was still open between them. The quieter they became, the more serious the row was, until they just stopped talking altogether; sometimes for months at a time.

"You're frustrated, are you, Ronald? Then why don't you talk to me about it like a normal person, instead of cracking jokes!?"

Ron's eyes flared. "Fine. I'm frustrated alright. For starters, I can see how miserable you are about obliviating your parents, when it's not even your fault. It's the fault of that twisted son of a bitch Riddle and all his loser cronies."

She opened her mouth to retaliate, but he somehow drew himself up to an even taller height and continued his rant.

"I'm frustrated that you won't take any of that dreamless sleep potion; that you won't even take it just until we get back and you can go to St. Mungo's! You say you're worried about becoming addicted to it, but we both know that's a load of hippogriff shite. You're way too powerful of a witch to be overpowered by a fucking dreamless sleep potion! It's almost as if you want to punish yourself- like you think that in some fucked up way you deserve this!"

Hermione flinched at his accusation. Was that true? Was it possible that deep down in her psyche she saw her suffering from post traumatic stress as a form of compensation for what she had done to her parents? She had never studied psychology as extensively as her other subjects- the most similar class Hogwarts offered that explored the human mind was Divination. Was she wrong to have so strongly disregarded Trelawney and all of the looney professor's nonsense?

Regardless of her flinching, Ron continued even further with his rant. His ears were becoming almost as red as his hair.

"I just- ugh! You drive me barmy in so many ways, Hermione! You know, Fred and George used to joke that women were put on this earth just to drive us blokes crazy, but now I'm starting to think they might have been on to something! For someone so smart, you can be so unreasonable!"

Once again, she made to interject, but Ron plowed on, seemingly letting any and all thoughts he was having slip right out of his mouth.

"And do you have any idea how hard it is for me to lay next to a beautiful woman every night and not shag you!? I understand you want to wait, and I respect that, and all of the other stuff we've done has been brilliant, but for fuck's sake Hermione, I'm still a bloke! I want you. I want you so fucking bad. And I love you. I'm pretty sure I love you more than any bloke has ever loved a girl. All I want to do is show you how much, but you don't want me to. It's fucking killing me that you don't want me to make love to you."

That was not what she had expected him to say next. She was about to retaliate with a long screaming rant about how much of a pigheaded randy git he was, but then she looked into his eyes and saw true sadness and uncertainty in them. She sighed.

"Ron, I've explained this to you. It has nothing to do with you. It's my own issue-"

"I know. I know that's what you say, and I know you mean it, but… fuck. I shouldn't have said all that. I only did because you told me to tell you about shite that was frustrating me and it just kind of came out."

She shook her head. "No, don't apologize. I did ask you to tell me the truth. You can't help how you feel…"

It just stung a bit that he felt this poorly due to her actions.

"Yeah, but I probably could have said it a bit nicer. This goddamn Weasley temper is always getting me in trouble," he said, playfully nudging her shoulder.

"Don't swear," she automatically replied.

Ron chuckled. "You should watch your own mouth, love. You do realize I just got you to say fuck again, don't you?"

"I haven't the faintest idea as to what you're talking about," she replied in the primmest voice she could muster.

Ron only chuckled louder. Damn him and his knowledge of her more wild and 'dirty' side as he liked to call it. He would probably never take her prim and proper tendencies seriously again.

"May I speak, now?" she asked.

Ron nodded and sat down next to her with a huff. His long speech seemed to have taken a lot of energy out of him.

"First of all, about the portkey…" she pondered their options, and realized Ron was right. What other choice did they really have?

Ron looked at her with uncertain eyes, and she realized he was worried about her rejection of his ability to create a portkey.

"I think we should use it. Of course I trust that you made it correctly. You know I just have this thing when it comes to following the rules, that's all."

Ron smiled and nodded his head in agreement. "I know, love. But I know I did it right. I watched the order members make them every day over that entire summer before 5th year when we lived at headquarters." She hadn't even considered that.

"As for the potion… I just don't want it. We don't have all the time in the world right now for me to figure out exactly why. When I get back to Hogwarts, I'm going to look up some books on wizarding psychology at the library. In fact, that might be for the best, rather than looking at muggle books. Perhaps magical persons have minds that work somewhat differently than muggles… I mean, of course it's been known in the literature for quite some time that our nervous systems are slightly different, considering that we can conduct magic through our bodies and they can't. I wonder just how much that would affect-"

"Love, can this wait until later? I scheduled the portkey to leave in"-he glanced at his watch- "ten minutes, so we don't really have time for you make a discovery that'll win you the Noble Cheese Prize," Ron said with a very serious look on his face.

"The Nobel Peace Prize," Hermione corrected. She had explained the concept of the muggle award to Ron once.

The serious look on Ron's face turned into a grin. "I knew that, I just wanted to make you laugh again."

Hermione giggled in spite of herself. "Watch it you, or I'll be less inclined to explain muggle things to you if this is what you do with the information."

Ron held his hands up in defence. "Don't say that, Dad'll never forgive me if our best source of muggle information refuses to tell us all about rubber ducks."

She laughed again.

"And I promise I'm not bothered by the no shagging thing. Those were just the randy teenage bloke thoughts in my mind, nothing for you to be too concerned about."

"You're bothered a bit," she said quietly.

Ron looked at her for a few seconds, then shrugged. "I reckon a bit, but only because the- what's that thing you called me that time you caught me looking down Madam Rosmerta's blouse? A neanderthing? I really don't remember the word this time."

She sighed and rolled her eyes. "Neanderthal."

"Right, neanderthal. The neanderthal in me wants to shag the daylights out of you every second of the bloody day. It's him who's frustrated. Be mad at him."

Hermione sighed again. "I'm not mad at either of you. I suppose men are just different than women when it comes to matters such as these," she pondered.

Ron smirked. "Well I bloody well hope so, or else what the fuck am I doing spending all this time and effort trying to 'get into your knickers' as George so gracefully put it?"

She slapped his arm. "Ron! Oh Merlin, I forgot he had said that! Between that and you asking Bill for some... _advice_... goodness, your brothers are privy to too much information pertaining to our physical relationship."

This time, Ron actually threw his head back and wholeheartedly laughed. "You think _that's_ too much information? Love, if you knew the kind of shite they talk about when women aren't around-"

She held her hand up to stop him. "That's quite enough, thank you; I heard all I needed to hear the night Audrey came to dinner. I have no desire to dive into the intricacies of the male sexuality at the moment. Maybe later when we have more time... _and_ I've had a shot of fire whiskey. Although, I don't know if I'll ever be able to drink that stuff again…"

Ron eyebrows rose in shock. "What? How the fuck do you know about that night? Fuck… you can actually do legitimacy, can't you? Shite, okay, look… you know I have nothing but respect for you, love. I can't help some of the images that pop up in my mind-"

Hermione began to chuckle and shushed him. "No, Ronald. My legitimacy skills are still subpar. But just you wait until I perfect them," she added with a sly grin.

Ron groaned. "That's just great. You'll probably have it all mastered by Christmas hols."

"Don't worry, I would never intrude on your personal thoughts. Some things are meant to be kept private. Which is why I don't have to tell you exactly what my thinking is when it comes to that potion," she said with a pointed look.

Ron sighed and nodded. "I guess you have a point there…"

"I usually do," she replied, then crawled into his lap. Their rows at Hogwarts had certainly never ended like this, no matter how heartfelt the apologies were.

Ron wrapped his arms around her small frame and squeezed her tightly, and she felt him raining kisses on top of her unkempt hair; it was a right mess from their fly the night before.

"I should thank you," she murmered into his broad chest.

He ceased his kisses and looked down at her in question.

"For saving my life," she clarified. "I was so angry at you for putting yours in danger that I forgot to thank you for saving mine. Thank you, darling."

Ron's face went a little red. "Don't mention it."

"Of course I'll mention it." This is why he was her hero. Ron was always there for her, and he had such a good heart.

Obviously uncomfortable with her praise, he resumed kissing her head. She felt his chest puff out a bit, though.

Merlin, how badly she wanted to sit in Ron's lap for the rest of her life. It felt safe and secure. Like nothing could ever hurt her, as long as she stayed like this; in Ron's arms as he kissed her head of ridiculously bushy hair.

The logical part of her brain knew that just like her hair, that notion was ridiculous. It was time to get up and face the realities of this post-war world.

"We should pack up, Ron. The portkey will probably start glowing soon."

She felt Ron sigh against the top of her head. "I know." He stood up, but did not let her go, choosing to cradle her in his arms instead.

"Maybe I'll pack everything up like this. Maybe I'll never let you go again," he said sincerely, staring into her eyes with such adoration and what almost looked like fear that she momentarily forgot how to speak.

"Wouldn't that be nice," she finally murmured, tracing the stubble from the top of his cheek down to his lips. He kissed her finger.

"You know I would if I could," he said with sincerity. "You know I'd hold you forever, Hermione."

"Well now you're just being sappy," she replied with a giggle, continuing to trace his lips with her fingers.

"You love it," he replied cheekily.

"I love you," she shot right back at him.

"Let's make a deal: I won't tell my brothers all the dirty details of what we get up to when we're alone, if you don't tell them about what an absolute lovesick prat I am when we're alone. Neither of us needs them to have that kind of ammunition to use against us; trust me."

She pretended to ponder his offer, then nodded. "Deal."

She held out her hand for him to shake, and he positioned her so that he cradled her with only one arm while he shook her hand with the other. Once again, she secretly marveled at his strength.

Suddenly, the tea cup that Ron had haphazardly tossed on the floor when their row had begun started to glow. She hopped out of his arms as gracefully as possible and grabbed her wand.

"Come on! Grab the cup!" she said, already running toward the tent flap and out into the setting sun.

Ron stepped out of the tent a second after her, and she quickly did the spell to fold the tent up and put it back in her beaded bag. Then, she grabbed onto the cup with one hand and his hand with the other, and smiled up at him. He smiled back. She felt happy.

The familiar tug at her navel dragged her, and she once again went with it in spite of every bone in her body screaming at her to fight it. Ron squeezed her hand in an obvious act of comfort, which served to calm her.

They landed hard on what seemed to be a concrete surface, and Hermione blinked her eyes in a desperate attempt to adjust to the dark alley in which they stood.

"Ron, where are we?"

"Well, isn't it obvious? I made the portkey for right where they work."

Hermione stared at him in what was admittedly shock. She thought with their inexperience they would have needed at least two or three portkeys to make it halfway across the continent. Ron wasn't lying when he said he had been paying attention to the Order's actions when he spent that hot and stuffy summer at Grimmauld Place.

"Oh Ron, did you really?" she asked with glee.

Ron shrugged. "'course"

She let out a sob of happiness and leapt into his arms. "Oh my God!"

"Let's make sure I got it right before you go calling me God," Ron chuckled into her hair.

"You're right," she said, extracting herself from his arms and choosing to ignore his teasing. "Let's get our bearings."

Ron nodded in agreement, then grabbed her hand. "This way. It should be right around the corner."

They walked around the corner, and she held her breath, silently praying to Merlin that this would be it... she looked up at the sign on the building that came into view once they rounded the corner...

Wilkins and Wilkins Dentistry

Gasping involuntarily, she felt her knees give out on her just as the tears began to pour down her face. Dimly, in what seemed to be off in the distance, she heard Ron call her name.

As her vision became fuzzy she vaguely realized she was fainting, and heard Ron call her name one more time before everything went black.

* * *

 _Author's Note: Sorry to leave it on a bit of a cliffhanger, but this seemed like a good place to end the chapter so the next one flows more smoothly. Once again with the sexual tension type of stuff, I'm not trying to write it as one pressuring the other or using sex as a weapon. I just thought is was a bit unrealistic for an 18-year-old male to be 100% totally perfectly fine with not having sex when he has a beautiful girlfriend he is in love with. There's got to be a bit of frustration there, right? Ah, well, if nothing else it helps to portray the inner turmoil these two have going on._

 _Thank you so much to all of you who wished me luck with my degree, you're all so kind. It makes me happy that there are people from all over the world rooting for me. Thanks for the favs and reviews, and I hope you're still enjoying my story! Happy New Year! :)_


	54. Chapter 54

She felt a rush of cold water as light began to shine through the darkness that had overcome her, and gasped and sputtered as Ron's concerned face came into focus.

"Hermione? Wake up, love…" Ron muttered, slapping her cheek in what he probably thought was a gentle manner. However, his large hand began to sting the delicate skin of her face.

She reached a hand up to simultaneously slap his hand away and run her fingers through the unruly hair that now clung to her face.

Ron stopped slapping her cheek and a look of relief washed over him. "Hermione! Are you okay?"

She merely coughed as the cold water ran down her face and began to seep into her clothes.

"Honestly, Ron, another _Aguamenti_ spell? I think a simple _Rennervate_ would have sufficed."

Ron looked sheepish. "Sorry, love, but you weren't waking up and I panicked a bit."

Suddenly, the reason as to why she had been unconscious hit her like a ton of bricks.

"Oh, Ron! We found them!" she shouted, then threw herself into his arms.

It was a little embarrassing to have fainted at the mere sight of the sign outside of their dental practice, but her sheer elation at finding her parents far outweighed her pride.

Ron squeezed her tightly, obviously willing to ignore the discomfort he must be feeling from her cold and wet body pressed against him.

"Told you we would, sweetheart," Ron murmured into her drenched hair, then pulled her down onto the cot that she just realized they were sitting on. She wrapped her legs around his waist and her arms around his neck, and lovingly ran her fingers through his soft ginger hair.

"How did we get back in the tent?" she murmured back to him.

"Well, when you decided to take an impromptu nap in the middle of the street, I figured you might want some place a bit more comfortable than concrete." She extracted her fingers from his hair to punch him in the chest. "Ouch! Bloody hell, woman! I carried you, of course!"

"Yes, but where did you pitch the tent?"

"In the alley… I know it's not the most secure place, but I wanted to wake you up before we moved. I know you probably want to stay so we can be right here when they come in for work tomorrow, but we can't take any safety risks..."

Safety. Her _parents'_ safety. Sure, Ron's theory was the most plausible explanation- that there was someone still loyal to Voldemort working at one of the most confidential positions in the Ministry. If that were true, then they must have lost the Death Eaters after disapparating on the train, seeing as from now on she and Ron definitely would not be occupying any of the other hotels Kingsley had booked for them. However, she was not going to assume. They would take all precautions now, and figure out exactly what was going on after guaranteeing her parents' safety.

"We've got to move, now," she said, interrupting Ron and wiggling out of his grasp.

While her mind had been whirling, Ron was still prattling on. "Brilliant," he said as he hit them with a drying spell, then conjured her a glass of water. "You sit here and relax, love. I'll look at that map you brought and try to figure out the best-"

"No, I don't mean our location. We need to secure the area, then we should break into the office and find their address. We need to get to their house right away, Ron. Who knows if the Death Eaters know where we are right now? Oh Merlin, why did I have to open my big mouth and tell everyone at Hogwarts who would listen to me that my parents were dentists?! Now they know we're in Australia, _and_ about the dentistry aspect as well! It's only a matter of time before they show up here!"

"Calm down, Hermione. We don't know what they know," Ron said as he put his hands gently on her shoulders.

She shrugged him off. "I guarantee that Malfoy spilled every bit of information he had on us to them," she said with a knowing look.

Ron sighed. "You're right, that little shite would have done just that. When we get back, remind me to hit Harry for forcing us to save Malfoy from that fiendfyre, will you?"

Hermione let out a little laugh despite the seriousness of their situation. "Alright, but not too hard, okay? I think Ginny would be quite upset."

Ron mumbled something about not being able to make any promises.

"Here's what I think we should do," she said, interrupting Ron's mumbling. "We'll cast disillusionment charms on ourselves, then walk over to the building and put up enchantments to protect it. Then we can break in- it will be easy of course because the whole security system will be muggle. Then all we'll have to do is find the records and look up my parents' address. We'll go to their house- it can't be far from here- and we'll put up strong protections around it. Then…" she trailed off.

Ron picked up where she had left off. "Then, we'll wait until morning, knock on the door,make some excuse to be invited inside, and you'll set 'em right as rain," he finished, then leaned forward and kissed her softly on the cheek.

Hermione stared at him for a few seconds before nodding. "Yes, then we'll do just that," she replied.

Ron gave her a reassuring smile. "It'll be brilliant, Hermione."

She tried to believe Ron, but it was difficult. Confessing her deceit to her parents did not seem like it was going to be brilliant at all.

After quickly downing the glass of water, Hermione stood up and grabbed her wand. "Let's go."

Ron nodded, and together they walked outside and into the dark alley. She procured the tent and sent it flying back into the bag with a flick of her wand.

"I'll do yours, love," Ron asserted, walking up to her and tapping her head lightly with his wand. She felt the familiar coolness of the spell drip down her body, and looked down to see that she was practically invisible.

"Oh! Well done, Ron! This is the best disillusionment I've ever seen you perform!" she praised, unable to stop herself from congratulating good spellwork.

Ron shrugged and waved his hand at her in a dismissive manner, but even in the darkness of the alley she could see his ears glowing red.

Hermione stood on her tiptoes and grabbed Ron's shoulder in an effort to force his head down so that she could tap her wand on top of it. He too suddenly became almost invisible; very well camouflaged with the scenery. Hermione ran her hand from her shoulder down his arm to his own hand, which she then grasped firmly, lest they lose each other.

Ron gave her hand a tug, and together they walked out of the alley and back into the street. Seeing the sign again still managed to take her breath away; they had done it. They had really found her parents.

" _Protego Totalum_ ," she heard Ron mutter next to her.

" _Salvio Hexia_ ," Hermione whispered, pointing her wand at the building. " _Repello Inimicum_."

She squeezed Ron's hand. "I think that's fine, for now, we can do a lot more when we...arrive at my parents' house."

Ron squeezed her hand back, and they slowly began to approach the building.

" _Alohomora_ ," she whispered, pointing her wand at the front door. There was a click, and then it opened easily.

Ron chuckled quietly. "Bloody hell, can you imagine if breaking into Gringotts had been that easy?"

"Shh!" she hissed as she pulled him inside, and conjured a 'closed' sign on the front door to deter muggle patients who would be showing up in the morning.

"What? All I'm saying is that was no fire breathing dragon," Ron muttered as he stumbled through the doorway. She quickly slammed it shut behind them.

" _Homenum Revelio_ ," Hermione said, raising her wand and casting the presence-revealing spell. "We're alone. Let's find their office, and be on our way." She could feel the effect of Ron's disillusionment charm beginning to wear off.

"This way," Hermione ordered as she began to walk, glancing in rooms that were occupied with reclining dentist chairs and light fixtures dangling from the ceilings. She felt a swell of emotion, as she had spent so many hours of her childhood in a dentist office. The last room she came to seemed to be locked. Casting another unlocking spell, she quickly had it open, flicked the muggle light on, and peered inside.

"Oh, Ron! Look!" she gasped, pointing at a picture that sat on one of the two desks in the room. It was a picture of her mother and father; their faces frozen in permanent smiles as they stood in front of a house she did not know. "It's them! Oh, they look happy don't they?" she asked, almost pleading with him to agree with her. If they had at least been happy here, that had to count for something, right?

"Yup. Blimey, Hermione, you look just like them," Ron commented, inspecting the photograph.

"Do I?" she asked absently, smiling. "Well, never mind that now. There has to be a record of their home address in these file cabinets; help me look."

Together, they set to work shifting through all of her parents' files. It took a few minutes, but finally, her eyes ran over a paper that had the name 'Monica Wilkins' at the top, along with what looked like a form that one would fill out when applying for health insurance. No matter what it was, there was an address listed.

"Ron, I think I've found it!" she gasped. "And it's not too far from here. Wilson Drive. I think if I visualize the street sign, I can apparate us there."

Ron nodded. "Brilliant. Let's go, then. I don't fancy being here longer than we need to be." He grasped her hand and squeezed it tight, then looked at her expectantly.

"Okay...alright...here we go," she muttered. "Destination, determination, deliberation."

 _Wilson Drive. Wilson Drive. Wilson Drive_ , she thought over and over again in her mind.

She took a deep breath, squeezed Ron's hand, planted her feet firmly on the ground, and turned on the spot.

 _Crack!_

Suddenly, the scenery resembled a quiet suburban town. A quick scan of the area told her the street sign indicated that this was indeed Wilson Drive.

"Oh! That's the house! Right there, Ron! I recognize it from the photograph!" she exclaimed, pointing at the house right in front of them. She couldn't believe she had apparated this close to the house; it was almost as if her magic drew her right to her parents.

Immediately, she drew her wand, and began throwing every protective charm she could think of around the house. " _Fianto Duri, Salvio Hexia, Protego Totalum, Cave Inimicum, Repello Inimicum, Protego Maxima_!" Her wand flourished in figure eight motions so fast that she could barely see it, but it was no matter, her only focus was protecting her parents.

"That's all I can do for now. Unless...yes! Let's cast a Fidelius Charm as well! I'll make myself Secret-Keeper, that way no one will ever be able to harm them-"

Ron coughed to interrupt her; he was looking at her like she had lost her mind. "Hermione, we're not doing a Fidelius Charm out here in the bloody street at six o'clock in the bloody morning! You know that would take us ages, and we're not meant to be here for more than a day or two," he hissed.

Hermione sighed. She knew he was right, but all she wanted to do was protect her parents, however extreme her methods might be.

"Come on, love. Let's knock on the door," Ron encouraged, tugging her hand toward the delightful stone walkway which led to the front door of the home. The sun was just beginning to rise.

"Can you see me again?" she asked in a daze, as Ron pulled her along.

He turned to look at her, then smiled "Yeah, and you look bloody beautiful."

She felt her face heat up. "I can see you as well." That goofy grin of his was hard to miss.

Somehow, they now stood on the front stoop, and before she knew what was happening, Ron was raising his large hand and knocking on the big red door. She held her breath, but was forced to exhale when nothing happened after a minute.

"Oh no, what if they're not home? What if they've moved away!? Ron-" but her sentence was cut short when she heard voices on the other side of the door.

"I'll get it, Wendell, dear. You finish your tea."

She locked eyes with Ron in disbelief and elation; that was her mother's voice! Tears welled up in her eyes. The door creaked open, and when she saw who stood on the other side, the tears escaped and began to run freely down her face.

The woman on the other side of the door wore a friendly yet concerned smile. She had Hermione's same brown, curly hair. She sported a few more wrinkles than Hermione remembered, but other than that she looked the same. The woman was her mother.

Her mother frowned in concern. "Dear, are you quite alright?" she eyed Hermione with hesitation and Ron in question.

Hermione could not stop the flow of tears, but luckily Ron was quick on his feet. "She's just emotional, is all. Uh, we're lost. So we were wondering if we could come in… just to use your felly...er... tellyphone…?"

"Oh! Well, of course. Come here, dear, let's get you some water," her mother said, and it was all Hermione could do but follow.

"Who is it, Monica? We need to get to the office soon," her father walked around the corner wearing a stern look on his face that she knew so well.

"These young people are lost, dear. They just want to use the telephone," her mother replied.

Hermione smiled. Even under enchantments, her mum was still as kind as ever.

"Very well, but hurry up, you two. We have five roots canals to perform today," he replied groufy, than sat down on the sofa in the sitting room and began to read the morning paper.

Her mother pointed to the landline that sat in the corner of the room, then turned to join her husband on the sofa.

"Now, Hermione. Do it now," Ron whispered, so that only she could hear.

She took a deep breath, and removed her wand. Even though Hermione was terrified that she would not be able to reverse the powerful memory charms that she had put on her parents, Ron was right. It was time.

" _Finite Incantatem,_ " she whispered, trying a general counter-spell first. She hadn't exactly obliviated their minds- all of their memories should still be intact. Considering the powerful memory charms she had used, which she had found in her little collection of restricted section books, only she should be able to reverse the spell. And if she had learned anything from the past year, it was that sometimes the easiest answer was also the most simple.

Her parents both stared at her spacily, and she was momentarily terrifed that she had ruined their minds. However, eventually, they both adopted looks of recognition.

"Mum…?" she asked in a choked whisper.

Her mother met her eyes. Although she looked confused, Hermione could tell her mother recognized her daughter. "Hermione? Honey… what…?"

"Oh, Mum!" Hermione cried, then scrambled across the room before throwing herself into her mother's lap. She instantly hugged Hermione back, in spite of the look of pure confusion that still existed on her face.

Hermione began to sob at the sheer feeling of her mother's arms. This was exactly how she remembered it. No, it was better; the real thing was better than any memory she had conjured over the past year.

"Pumpkin? What's happened?"

She jumped at the sound of her father's voice saying his nickname for her. The reversal spell had worked on him as well! Somehow, she couldn't quite believe it.

"Daddy!" she cried, and without leaving her mother's lap she turned and threw her arms around his neck.

He accepted her warm embrace, but then tensed when her sobbing commenced yet again. Her mother leaned over and ran a hand through her daughter's wayward hair.

"Sweetie, what is it? What-" Suddenly, she stopped speaking, as it seemed she had just noticed Ron sitting in the chair opposite them.

"Hello, Mrs. Granger," Ron said a bit awkwardly, but nevertheless held out his hand for her to shake.

"...Ron? What…? Why, you look… and Hermione… you as well...older…" her mum said, voice fading with every word she spoke as she obviously tried to puzzle out their appearance.

Ron, for his part, seemed surprised that Mrs. Granger even recognized him. Despite everything that was currently happening, Hermione couldn't help but blush. She hadn't been lying when she said she had told her mother all about Ron.

"Yes, it's Ron. Ron Weasley," Ron disclosed, this time with a surer smile.

Her mother continued to stare, eyes swiveling back and forth between Ron and Hermione, and then all around the room. Her eyes then widened in apprehension. Hermione looked at her father; he too was beginning to look concerned.

"Hermione…what did you do?" he asked cautiously.

"I'm sorry, Daddy," she choked, burying her face in his chest. She let a few more tears slip out when she smelled his familiar aftershave; her spell did not erase everything about them after all. "I'm so sorry."

"About what, Pumpkin?"

She cried even harder when he used his special name for her yet again. "D-daddy, I d-did s-something…"

"Honey, you can tell us." This time it was her mother who spoke up.

Hermione looked at her mother in anguish. "P-please… don't be m-mad. P-please don't h-hate me."

Her mother grabbed Hermione's hand. "Your father and I could never hate you."

Out of the corner of her eye she saw Ron vigorously nodding his head, as if to say, _see, I told you_.

"But, you do need to tell us what's happened. Because I don't know where we are, or why Ron is here, or why you look… different, honey. When did you lose so much weight?"

Hermione bit her lip, and for the first time, looked to Ron for some help.

"Mr. and Mrs. Granger…" her parents snapped their heads in Ron's direction. "We have some things to tell you. Well, Hermione does, but I know most of what she's going to say, so I'm here to help too."

This statement served to make her parents look even more confused and uneasy. They turned to where Hermione sat wedged between them on the sofa and looked at her expectantly. Hermione took a shaky breath, and somehow found the will to speak.

"A-alright." _Why couldn't she stop stuttering?_ She tried again. "Alright. Well… Mum, to answer one of your questions, Ron is here because he's my boyfriend."

There. She would start with something easy.

"Your boyfriend? When did this happen?" her father asked, glancing at Ron even more wearily.

"Recently, Daddy. Just over the summer-" she stopped herself. They still thought it was the summer of last year.

"Over the summer? But you've been with us all summer! Hermione, tell us what you did," her father ordered sternly.

Her eyes filled with tears again. Both of her parents began to sport a look of genuine fear in their eyes.

"It's magic, right, sweetie? Did you do it accidentally again?" her mother asked sympathetically.

Hermione glanced at Ron, and saw him looking genuinely shocked that Mrs. Granger would have thought Hermione could be capable of something as infantile as accidental magic.

Hermioe took a deep breath. It was time to lay everything out on the table. She supposed it would be best to start with answering her mother's most recent questions, then go on to where, and also _when_ , they were.

"Yes, Mum. It's magic. No, it wasn't an accident. I'm far too old and too skilled to do anything thing like that." She glanced at Ron yet again, and he nodded in encouragement. "Please, don't be mad... I only did it to protect you, but you've been under a memory charm for quite some time. We're not at home, and the date is rather in the future from what you think…we're in Australia, and it's June...1998."

"What!? That's impossible! I only just called you down for tea minutes ago!" her mother shouted.

Hermione's father looked genuinely angry. "Hermione, you tell us exactly what you did, right now!"

Her head was now on a swivel as she turned back and forth between the two of them, overwhelmed with the task of answering to their outrage.

"Hermione? Why don't you sit here, so you can face both of them? Come on," Ron suddenly spoke up, motioning for her to sit on the chair next to him, which sat opposite of her parents.

Hermione nodded, then shakily stood up and walked toward Ron. She sat in the chair next to him, and he immediately grasped her hand in his.

Both of her parents eyes shot down to Ron and Hermione's intertwined hands. "Are you pregnant, is that what this is?" her father asked, staring daggers at them.

"No!" Ron shouted and the same time Hermione admonished, "Daddy!"

"Hermione, you've shown up telling us all of this nonsense, with a boyfriend we've never met, and both of you look terrified. What am I supposed to think? You better start talking right now, young lady," he ordered.

She gulped at his use of the term 'young lady'. Although it was a bit unnerving to have made her father so upset, a bigger part of her felt strangely elated at the thought of her parents reprimanding her again. They cared for her.

"Daddy, as I said, I was forced to put a memory charm on you and Mum. I know it seems as though you just called me for tea, but in reality, I haven't seen you in almost a year," she mumbled, staring at Ron's much larger hand covering hers.

"What? Sweetie, you're not making sense," her mother interjected.

"A lot of what I'm about to tell you won't make much sense. And I'm sorry, because it's my fault. I haven't told you nearly enough about magic. I haven't told you what it can really do. But please, just… will you listen? Let me explain, and then you can ask as many questions as you like."

 _Or not forgive me and never speak to me again_ , she added silently in her mind.

Her parents nodded, though she noted they both looked more fearful than ever. Ron squeezed her hand, and she took a deep breath, trying to use his encouragement to begin.

"Things were...not so good… no, awful" -she reminded herself that she was not going to sugar coat anything- "things were awful in my world. The wizarding world," she clarified.

They looked unnerved, but she continued. "My friend, Harry, was in a great deal of trouble, and because of our friendship, I thought it might be best to hide you; for your safety." She corrected herself again. "No, I _knew_ it would be best to hide you. If you were found, you would have been killed."

"What!? Hermione, what are you talking about? Killed!? By whom? And why?" her mother exclaimed.

"You see… remember that bad wizard I told you about after my first year? How his name was so forbidden to speak that every witch and wizard I met had called him ' _You-Know-Who_ '?" They nodded again. "His name was Voldemort."

They stared at her blankly, and she was momentarily taken aback by their non-reaction to the name. She was so used to people flinching or at least grimacing when that name was uttered. Even Ron's hand had twitched slightly in hers when she had said it.

Hermione continued. "Voldemort was a very powerful dark wizard… perhaps the most powerful dark wizard of all time. He murdered Harry's parents."

"Oh my," her mother gasped. She had never told her parents how Harry's parents had died; only mentioned that he was an orphan. "Why?"

"Because… Voldemort had received information that Harry had the ability to defeat him one day…" _She figured filling them in on the concept of seers and prophecies could wait._ "He had set out to kill Harry as well, only Harry wasn't killed by the curse… which was unheard of. There was no record of someone ever surviving the killing curse. It made Harry rather famous."

"Killing curse? her father asked wearily. Her mother looked horrified.

Hermione was suddenly at a loss for words. She didn't want to explain something as terrible as the killing curse to her mother and father.

Thankfully, Ron seemed to sense her apprehension and jumped in. "There are spells that can hurt people…and...kill people; dark magic."

"Is that...what you used on us? Some sort of this dark magic?" her father asked.

"No!" Hermione exclaimed at the same time Ron shouted "Of course not!" He looked offended that Mr. Granger would even suggest that Hermione would use dark magic against someone she loved.

She sent him a warning look, reminding him that they didn't know her father's suggestion would be taken as an insult by any decent witch or wizard.

"Voldemort was weakened… and he went away for a while. But, of course his followers were always lurking, and so Harry was always a target… and I became best friends with him… which made me a target. That, on top of being muggleborn, put me in a lot of danger."

"You were in danger because we aren't magical?"

"Yes. Voldemort… wanted to rid the world of muggleborns; muggles too if he had his way. He wanted there to be only witches and wizards with pure blood."

"Which made no bloody sense, seeing as he was a half-blood himself," Ron muttered.

She shot him a chastising look for swearing, and he grinned at her sheepishly.

"And a lot of people felt this way?" her father asked in suspicion. Hermione could tell he was starting to catch on to just how much danger she had been in, and he didn't like it one bit.

"Some did, Daddy… not all pure-bloods, though! Ron's pure-blood," she said for an example, nodding at Ron and smiling.

"I see… so, you don't feel this way at all? You don't want harm to come to my daughter just because of how she was naturally born?" her father asked Ron, eyeing him with anger.

"No! I would never- Hermione means everything to me, sir!" Ron ejected, looking highly offended and upset.

She was highly offended on his behalf, and tried to confront her father calmly.

"Dad, I know you don't understand much about our world, and that's my fault. But it's considered very offensive to suggest that of someone," she said quietly, grasping Ron's hand even tighter. "Ron would never think that. He loves me, and I love him," she asserted, meeting both of her parents' eyes.

She hadn't planned to tell them this so soon, but she was not ashamed of her love for Ron. In fact, their love was the greatest joy of her life.

" _Love_? Hermione-" both of them looked uncertain.

"We love each other," she interrupted with an air of finality.

"And I would never, ever, hurt your daughter," Ron said solemnly.

The four of them went quiet, and finally, her father sighed. "I'm sorry, Ron, I didn't mean any harm. This is just a lot to hear…"

"I know it is, Daddy," she murmured.

"You should have told us about this, Hermione. You should have given us a choice," her mother whispered with tears in her eyes.

"I'm sorry Mum, I didn't know what else to do! We promised Harry we would help him, so we had to go into hiding. I had to protect you-"

"Protect _us_? We're your parents! It's _our_ job to protect _you_!"

"You can't protect me," Hermione said quietly. Her mother looked brokenhearted. Her father looked even more so. "You're muggles; you can't protect me from this."

Her mother began to cry. "And what do you mean by help Harry!? You went after this man!? Hermione, where were the adults!? You are a child! You are only seventeen years old! "

"I'm eighteen," Hermione muttered, and her mother's eyebrows rose in shock and despair; apparently having forgotten she had missed a year of Hermione's life.

"So that's it, then? An entire year of our lives is gone?" her father interjected.

Hermione's eyes shifted to him, and she stared at him in anguish.

Ron spoke up. "There are spells that could make you remember your life- what you did and everything- during the time you were under the memory charm. If you want that, you might want to wait a bit-it can be really hard on the mind to reverse a memory charm and give back memories from when you were under it."

Hermione's mother and father stared at Ron, and she couldn't quite make out their expressions.

"Do either of your heads hurt? It's very common...when being under a memory charm for this long…I have a pain potion..." Hermione mentioned quietly.

"No more magic for right now, thank you," her mother replied.

"We have aspirin," her father said pointedly.

"Right, I'm sorry…" Hermione said meekly, looking down in shame. "I...I understand if you want me to leave…"

"Oh my love, come here," her mother said, holding her arms out to Hermione. Hermione immediately stood, dove into her mother's arms, and began to sob against her chest.

It was all so much; seeing her mother and father when she thought she would die and never lay eyes on them again. Seeing the disappointment, sadness, and fear that was devastatingly evident on their faces. However, even after all she had done, Hermione could still feel the unrelenting love exuding from her mother's arms. It felt wonderful to be on the receiving end of a mother's love for her child.

"Don't cry, honey. We'll figure this out. It might take a while for Daddy and I to understand and come to terms with what's happened, but don't think for one second that we don't love you," she said as she rubbed Hermione's back in a soothing manner. "Now, look at me and tell me you understand what I just said," she ordered, gently cupping Hermione's cheek and forcing her daughter to look into her eyes.

Hermione looked. All she saw was love there. "I understand, Mum. I know you love me," she whimpered.

Her mother hugged her tightly and they both began to cry. Her father leaned over and put his arms around them. Hermione swore she heard him sniffling, which startled her a bit, as she had never seen her father cry before, but she tried to relax and allow herself to enjoy the moment.

Her mother sighed. "Let's put this conversation on hold for now. Would you like some tea, dears? You must have had a long journey."

Hermione giggled through her tears; her mother always thought tea could make anything better.

"Don't worry about us, Mum. Your head must be hurting," she replied, kissing her mother's cheek.

"Well, it is bothering me a bit. I may go lay down. I'm having a bit of trouble remembering exactly where the bedroom is in this house…"

"I'll find it! I want to do a perimeter sweep, any way," Ron interjected. He was obviously looking for an excuse to give Hermione some time alone with her parents.

"A perimeter sweep? What kind of danger are we in?" her dad inquired, looking tense.

Ron's brow furrowed, and he glanced at Hermione uncertaintly. "Well… there are some of those nasty people we were telling you about out there looking for us. But don't worry; we put some pretty strong protective enchantments around the house."

"Still, I'd like to check the situation out for myself. I'm coming with you," her father declared. Ron nodded, and both men stood and walked from the room.

"It seems as though you have yourself a very wonderful young man, sweetie," her mother commented once they had left.

Hermione blushed, but nevertheless nodded. "He is wonderful, Mum. I've fallen so in love with him," she admitted.

Her mother smiled. "I wish I could have been there for you when it was all happening. You are my only daughter, you know. My only child."

"I know," Hermione said, smiling a watery smile at her mum.

Her mother brushed the tears off Hermione's face. "Don't fret, my love. Everything will be okay. Mummy's here now."

Even though she was eighteen years old, even though she had been on her own for almost a year, even though she could protect her mother far more than her mother could ever protect her, even though she had killed people… her mum's assurance had never felt so wonderful.

"All clear," came Ron's deep voice from the entryway. "Mr. Granger went outside for a smoke, but don't worry, Hermione, I told him where we set the ward boundary lines. Oh, I found the bedroom Mrs. Granger, if you'd like to follow me."

Hermione frowned; her father only smoked when he was extremely distressed. He must be much more overwhelmed than he was letting on.

"Thank you, Ron. You've been most helpful," her mother said, and Hermione scrambled up to assist her in standing.

Ron's ears reddened. "Of course."

Ron led them through the pleasantly decorated home into a decently sized master bedroom. Her mother sighed and walked toward the bed.

"I'll get you some of that aspirin, Mum," Hermione said, walking toward what she assumed was the washroom and motioning for Ron to follow her.

"Thank you, honey. That would be lovely," her mother sighed as she sunk down onto the bed.

They walked into the washroom and Hermione quickly shut and silenced the door. Immediately, Ron scooped her up into his arms and spun her around.

"You were brilliant, love! Absolutely brilliant! I told you you could do it!" he exclaimed, then placed her on the ground and planted a firm kiss on her lips.

"Oh Ron, do you really think so? It could have been better, but I suppose it also could have been much worse. I think they're more upset than they're letting on, but with time, maybe we can overcome this. Maybe we can be a family again," she said, tears yet again pooling in her eyes.

"'course you will," Ron replied.

"I'm worried about Dad. He never smokes unless he's very upset. It might be more difficult for him to forgive me. Of course, I understand…"

"He'll come 'round. Honestly, I think he's more angry at himself than he is at you."

"What? That doesn't make sense; he didn't do anything wrong!"

"He's upset that he couldn't protect his family, love."

"Did he tell you this?" she asked, momentarily stunned that her father would have opened up to Ron when he barely knew him.

"Nah, I can just tell," Ron shrugged.

"But...I explained to him...it's not his fault! He's a muggle!" she argued.

"I know, but he's still angry all the same. It's a man thing, love. Don't try to understand it."

"But I want to understand it! That way, maybe I can help him! I just want to make him happy again-"

Ron shushed her with another kiss. "Just give it time, sweetheart."

Hermione sighed in defeat. "Fine. I'll trust your judgement." Perhaps there was no quick fix for this. Perhaps it would take time.

She turned and sorted through the medicine cabinet, searching for the aspirin, and found it quickly. Before exiting through the door, she turned to Ron once again.

"Thank you so much, Ron. I can't thank you enough for this…"

"I can think of a few ways…" he replied with a wink.

"You watch your mouth! My mother is right outside!" she answered, barely suppressing a grin as she slapped his chest on principle.

"Oi! Mrs. Granger, your daughter is abusing me!" he shouted, knowing full well that Hermione's mother could not hear him due to the silencing charm.

"Really, Ron? Resorting to tattling on me?"

"You obviously didn't grow up with a bunch of siblings. Tattling is one of the greatest weapons you can have in your arsenal," he replied cheekily, winking at her yet again.

She giggled. How, after everything that had happened, was Ron still able to make her giggle?

"I'm going to give this to my mother," Hermione told him, this time actually exiting the room.

Ron nodded. "I'm gonna reinforce the wards."

She nodded in appreciation. "Can you try to tell Dad none of this was his fault? Maybe coming from another man…"

"Love, I told you, it's just gonna take time."

"Okay, you're right," she muttered. Ron kissed her cheek and left the room.

"Mum? I have the medicine for you," she called to her mother.

"Thank you, Hermione, dear," her mum said, reaching out to take the pills.

Hermione conjured a glass of water, realizing at the last second that it might not have been the best idea. Her mother gasped and tried to hide her obvious shock. Her parents had never seen her do much magic; the trace was only off of her for the last summer she had spent with them.

"I'm sorry, Mum. I know it must make you uncomfortable."

"Don't apologize, sweetie. I think it's wonderful. You're so talented…"

Hermione chuckled. "I can do much more than conjure a glass of water, Mum."

"I'd like you to show me, sometime, honey. I know Daddy would as well. You know we're so proud of you."

"I'd like that," she whispered, then crawled into bed next to her mum.

Hermione laid her head on her mother's lap; just like she used to when she was a little girl. Gentle, loving hands ran through her wayward hair until she drifted off to sleep.

* * *

 _Author's note: I wanted to give you guys a quick update and a longer chapter due to how awesome the fan base for this story is! I hope you liked it! I spent a lot of time thinking and writing about how exactly Hermione's parents might have reacted to everything, which was kind of hard due to the fact that they aren't mentioned too often in the books. Hermione is kind and fiercly loyal but also headstrong and stubborn, so I feel like her parents would be similar. Please, let me know what you think. Much love and many thanks!_


	55. Chapter 55

_Everything surrounding her was beautiful. Snow coated the ground in a blanket so pristine that Hermione thought she had never quite seen this shade of white. It dusted the trees and outlined their forms in a way that made it seem as though they were about to start dancing._

 _And it was quiet. So silent that she heard her own breathing as she saw her warm breath meet the cold air. But she wasn't cold; quite the opposite in fact. She felt warm, and happy._

 _There was the spot under the tree where she had once sat with Mum and Dad, all those years ago after her first year at Hogwarts. When she had been a little girl, and everything had been so simple; she had once thought that a three-headed dog would be the most terrifying thing she would ever face. Nevertheless, she smiled fondly at the memory of herself with Mum and Dad._

 _Suddenly, she felt a large pair of hands shove her from behind with malicious strength._

 _"Don't touch her!" a recognizable voice simultaneously ordered and pleaded._

 _She picked her head up just in time to see Ron sprinting toward her, and a snatcher punch his jaw so hard that she swore she heard bone crack. Ron stumbled, but remained upright. The combination of experience from fighting his brothers all his life and pure adrenaline was probably what allowed him to sustain the blow._

 _"No!" Hermione gasped. "Leave him alone!" She stood up on shaky legs, and stumbled toward Ron._

 _He continued to sprint to her, traveling at more than double her own speed. They were so close…_

 _Somehow, a snatcher grabbed Ron, and another one grabbed her just as their fingers were about to touch._

 _She turned around, and to her horror saw that the person who had pushed her from behind was none other than Greyback. Her eyes opened wide in sheer terror, and she began to struggle in his grasp, even though she knew it was futile. Everyone knew what Greyback did to the girls the Death Eaters and snatchers captured._

 _"Let me go!" she all but begged._

 _Greyback backhanded her so hard across the face that she saw stars. She didn't even remember falling from a standing position to the ground, but suddenly her face was in the beautiful snow._

 _"YOU SON OF A BITCH!" Ron screamed, and she heard the sounds of a struggle and some punches, then silence; they had probably knocked him unconscious._

 _"Wake Ginger up, boys. Don't want him to miss the show, do we?"_

 _She heard Ron begin to moan._

 _Greyback hoisted her up by her hair and whispered in her ear "How about we let your little boyfriend watch?"_

 _He threw her down in the very area she had just been fondly reminiscing, right under the tree. The place where she had many a picnic with Mum and Dad. The place that made her happy enough to produce a patronus._

 _At this point, she began to shriek and cry and whimper and plead, not caring about her own dignity anymore. This could not be happening. Not here. Not where she had shared so much love with her parents._

 _"I'LL FUCKING KILL YOU, YOU BASTARD! DON'T FUCKING TOUCH HER!" Ron bellowed. She heard the desperation in his voice, and it terrified her even more. It was almost as though Ron knew he could do nothing to stop what was about to happen. She was all alone._

 _Greyback continued his advance, and she crawled backward until she hit the tree, then cowered and brought her knees up to her chest. He seemed to think her terror was amusing. He was laughing._

 _Greyback hit her again; this time with his claws, and she let out a blood curdling scream._

* * *

"Hermione!? Hermione! Honey, wake up!" her mother's voice sounded frantic as she clutched Hermione to her chest.

"Mum?" she croaked, taking in her surroundings and realizing that she was in the bedroom in Australia.

"Hermione! Are you alright? You were screaming so loudly, I didn't know what to think-"

Suddenly, the door banged open so forcefully that it practically flew of the hinges. Her father and Ron burst into the room, wild eyed and alert. Ron had his wand drawn and looked ready to kill, and she almost gasped in shock when she saw her father carried a gun in his hand.

Ron's face immediately shifted from panic to miserable understanding of her current condition when he saw her laying on the bed in her sleep-disheveled state. He lowered his wand and sighed.

Her father, however, still looked panicked, and his eyes darted all around the room as he quickly advanced toward them.

"Girls! What's happened!? What's wrong!?"

Hermione felt a stab in her heart at his term of endearment for them; he always referred to her mother and herself as 'his girls'.

"We're fine, dear! We're fine! Hermione… had a nightmare…" her mother replied, as she continued to clutch Hermione to her chest in a consoling fashion.

"I'm fine," Hermione sniffed.

"Fine!? Hermione! I heard you screaming from outside! It sounded as though you were being tortured!" her father exclaimed.

She flinched. Ron grimaced.

"Why do you have that gun, Dad?" she questioned shakily, trying to change the subject.

He looked down at the gun in his hand. "Oh, it's nothing for you to worry about, Pumpkin."

"Daddy-" Hermione cut herself off when she saw Ron abruptly shake his head in a manner that clearly meant for her to drop it.

She struggled between her need to question her father about what could quite possibly be an illegal weapon, and listening to Ron. In the end, she decided to trust Ron's judgement on the matter.

"Honey, do you need a cup of tea?" her mother asked as she continued to rub Hermione's back.

"No," she said quietly.

"But honey, it always helps you when you have a bad dream-"

"I said no, Mum! Tea does not solve everything!" she shrieked.

Her mother flinched at Hermione's harsh tone, and Hermione instantly regretted her outburst.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Mum! I didn't mean to yell-"

"Honey, what happened to you? This isn't you," her mother said with such compassion that Hermione felt tears prickle behind her eyes.

She stared at her mother in silence, unable to find the words. Thankfully, Ron spoke up.

"You'll tell them more about last year when we get home, won't you, Hermione?"

"Yes," she sniffed, forcing herself to speak. "Yes, I promise I will."

"Hermione, are you in pain? Tell us right now," her father demanded.

"No, Daddy," she said quietly. At least, not the kind of pain she knew he meant. Physically, she was fine. Her mentality was another story.

"Going home can wait. I want to know what's wrong with you right now," her mother said as she continued to clutch Hermione.

Hermione sent a pleading look Ron's way, and he seemed to sense that she needed his help.

"Mr. and Mrs. Granger, we really need to get going-"

All of the sudden, there was a loud crack that could be heard from somewhere in the vicinity of the front of the house, and Hermione felt her heart drop into her stomach. She locked eyes with Ron across the room, and he looked just as panicked as she felt.

Hermione flew out of the bed and across the room in a few steps, drawing her wand and wiping her tears in the process. Her parents looked at her with questioning eyes, and she held her finger up to her lips in an effort to tell them to be quiet.

"Someone is here," she whispered. Both of their faces turned white.

"But who?" Ron muttered from where he now stood next to her. "Those Death Eaters? If they wanted to surprise us, they wouldn't have apparated, it's too loud…"

"No witch or wizard should have been able to get past those wards, Ron," she whispered. _Just how powerful of an enemy were they dealing with_?

"Stay here," Ron ordered. "I'll go-"

"No," Hermione said in retaliation, already cutting him off. "Of course not. I'm going with you."

"Hermione, if these Death Eater people are as dangerous as you say they are, Ron is right. You shouldn't go out there," her father said.

Ron vehemently nodded his head in agreement. _Great, now he had her father on his side._

"We're wasting time!" she hissed. Both her parents and Ron looked determined to keep her confined in the bedroom. "Fine! I'll stay behind Ron, okay?" she whispered, knowing in her mind that if they had to fight she would slip right next to him where she wanted to be.

Ron seemed to know what she was thinking, because he opened his mouth, looking like he was going to argue more, but suddenly there was crash. He reacted instantly, turning and sprinting out of the room toward the noise. She immediately followed him as her parents called her name in protest.

She grasped Ron's arm in a vice-like grip as they shuffled through the hallway. Ron seemed to know where he was going, and she realized that he must have searched and gotten the layout of the entire house. Hermione felt guilty that she had allowed herself to fall asleep while Ron had smartly been surveying their surroundings, but shoved that thought to the back of her mind as they advanced.

The crashing continued, and a croaking sort of grumble that almost sounded unhuman could be heard. She and Ron exchanged a look, and they both seemed to be thinking the same thing- what kind of Death Eater would break through the strong wards they had set, then proceed to grumble to himself in the kitchen instead of immediately going for the kill?

"I'm about to stun the shite out of whoever the fuck this is," Ron muttered.

Hermione shuffled quickly to keep up with him as he took a few fast steps and kicked the door open. Ron took a deep breath in, obviously about to scream ' _Stupify!_ ', when she grabbed his wand arm in an attempt to stop his stunning spell once she saw what they had walked in on.

A wrinkly, hunchbacked figure stood in the middle of the sunlit kitchen, clothed in a fluffy white linen cloth and peering up at them with a mixture of exasperation and triumph. A very familiar piece of jewelry rested against his bony chest.

"Oh bloody hell," Ron muttered in weary annoyance.

Hermione, however, could not have been more surprised and grateful.

"Kreacher!" she exclaimed, rushing forward to greet the elderly house-elf, who upon noticing that Hermione was advancing toward him squeeked and hastily shuffled backward as quickly as his creaking bones would allow.

"Don't be scared, Kreacher," she said in a soothing manner, smiling at him.

Ron scoffed. "He's not scared, Hermione. He just didn't want a muggle-born to touch him," Ron said, eyeing Kreacher with disgust.

She ignored Ron and tried to engage Kreacher again, this time being careful to remain still. "Kreacher, we're so happy to see you!"

Ron muttered under his breath about how happy was a strong word, but she ignored him yet again.

"Has Harry sent you?" she asked, trying to goad Kreacher into speaking.

"Master Harry has ordered Kreacher to find Master Weasley and Miss Granger. Kreacher has searched far and wide, but he wouldn't stop, of course he wouldn't, Kreacher lives to serve…."

"Oh, just look at him, Ron. He looks exhausted! He apparated thousands of miles, elfish magic really is incredible... although, Harry should have told him he could sleep! Come to think of it, Harry really should do what Sirius wouldn't and set him free-"

At this remark, Kreacher gasped and let out a loud wail before smacking his hands over his long ears and crumpling to the floor in despair.

"Great, Hermione. Now you've set him off. He'll be in a right state for an hour," Ron groaned.

"Ron, this is exactly what the problem is! The idea of his own freedown sends him into a state of despair! That is a learned behavior!"

"Hermione! He's six hundred fucking years old! Give it up! He can't unlearn anything, he's set in his ways!" Ron yelled as Kreacher continued to roll around on the floor in apparent agony.

Just then, her parents' heads peaked around the corner.

"What in the world…?" her mother murmured as she took in the sight.

"This is Harry's house-elf," Ron said in exasperation as he motioned to Kreacher, as if that would explain everything.

Kreacher suddenly stopped his outburst and stood on shaky legs as he peered at Hermione's mother and father. "Two muggles...Kreacher wonders who they are… Master Harry did not tell Kreacher about them…"

"This is my mother and father," Hermione said with a smile.

"So there it is...proof she is not of pure blood. Oh well, what can Kreacher do? My Mistress would not approve, but, Master Harry has forbid me to speak of the girl's blood status…"

"Oi! Then why are you still talking!? If you don't want to shut your mouth, I'll be happy to shut it for you!" Ron interrupted, pointing his wand directly at Kreacher's snout.

"Ron, stop!" she interjected, then turned to her parents. "He's from a very old pure-blood family...he doesn't know any better," she tried to explain.

"This Weasley always had a temper, yes he did, always yelling at Kreacher, always angry. But what can poor old Kreacher do? Master Harry said Kreacher musn't call her a mudblood-"

Ron raised his wand yet again, and Hermione jumped in front of him to stop him from stunning the elderly house-elf. She wasn't sure Kreacher could endure a stunning spell; it might be enough to stop his old heart.

"Kreacher, have you got a message for us?" she prodded.

Kreacher did a little spastic half bow in her direction, then began to speak. "Master Harry is worried for his friends, Miss. Master Harry's Miss Ginevera and her family are quite beside themselves as well. They are worried about yourself and the angry Weasley. They have heard of the train explosion, Miss."

Hermione let out an anguished sigh, and she heard Ron's breath catch. For all his family knew, they had lost another son.

"Tell them we're fine! Go! Now!" Ron shouted at Kreacher so suddenly that Hermione jumped.

Kreacher bowed in Ron's direction, did another little half bow toward Hermione, grimaced at Hermione's parents, and was about to disapparate when Hermione screamed, "NO!"

Everyone turned to look at her, and she explained herself. "Kreacher is exhausted! Just look at him!"

She turned to Ron. "Ron, Kreacher can't apparate all four of us right now! He has to regain some of his strength! It must be exhausting for him to apparate such long distances across continents and large bodies of water, let alone side-alonging four people! And if he goes by himself to speak to your family, who knows how long it will take him make his way back to us?"

Ron was staring on the floor with his fists clenched, and looked as though he was using all of his will power to not punch something.

"Ron, darling, don't worry. We'll be home soon, then they'll know you're okay," she murmured, advancing toward him and rubbing his back gently. Ron turned to look at her, and she stood up on her toes to kiss him gently on the lips.

Her father cleared his throat, and both of them sprang backward. She blushed, having forgotten that her parents were in the room. Kreacher looked as though he might be sick at the sight of a pure-blood and muggle-born kissing, but remained silent.

Ron sighed in frustration, but she could tell he knew that Hermione was right. "Alright, alright."

"Kreacher, why don't you get some sleep?" she suggested kindly.

Kreacher eyed her wearily, and shook his head.

She tried switching tactics. "You know, I don't think Harry would begrudge you some sleep, Kreacher. In fact, I know he would want you to."

Kreacher's ears perked up at the mention of Harry. "Master Harry wants it?"

Hermione nodded. The elderly elf's floppy ears shook from the force at which he was nodding his head back at her in agreement.

"Of course, of course. Kreacher will for Master Harry."

Hermione smiled at her success, while feeling slightly guilty that she had used Kreacher's obvious loyalty and devotion to Harry to manipulate him into resting.

Kreacher walked to the corner of the kitchen, and Hermione realized he was going to lay down on the floor. "Oh, no, Kreacher! You can use one of the beds!" Kreacher only eyed her wearily again before he laid down on the hard floor and shut his eyes. "Kreacher, at least take the sofa-"

"Hermione, let it go," Ron muttered, effectively interrupting her.

She sighed. "Ron, it's barbaric, the way he was made to sleep on the floor his entire life-"

"Let it go," Ron said again firmly.

Hermione was going to retaliate again, but when she looked at Ron, instead of annoyance she saw a great deal of understanding in his eyes. She felt her heart warm when she realized that he understood her so called 'barmy' ideas about house-elves, but he was just trying to 'calm her down' as he had put it during the night they had spent in that dark hotel room. She blushed at the memory.

Ron seemed to know what she was thinking, because the kind smile he sent her had just a hint of suggestiveness to it. She blushed even more.

Hermione was abruptly pulled from her thoughts when her mother spoke. "So...this creature is an... elf?"

"Yes, Mum."

"And he was able to appear here...out of thin air?"

"Yes. Elves have magic, too. But don't worry, elfish magic is different than wizarding magic. A human should not be able to get through the wards."

Her mother continued to stare at Kreacher, who at this point was snoring pretty loudly. "And Ron, you said he is… Harry's?"

"Well, yeah. But, Harry didn't buy him, he inherited him," Ron said, defending his best mate.

"Oh," her mother replied, clearly still not quite understanding the concept of house-elves.

"He should be able to take us home, once he rests," Hermione interjected, hoping that would pacify her mother.

Her mother nodded, then glanced at her father in apprehension. "Honey, what about our life here? Evendently we have a dental practice set up, and this house… I don't know if we can just up and leave."

"What about our finances? And what's become of our home in Britain?" her father interjected.

"I can take care of everything; with magic," Hermione replied, trying to ignore the fact that she would have to falsify muggle records.

"Even so-"

"Mr. and Mrs. Granger, when Kreacher wakes up, we have to leave, " Ron interrupted. Then, he turned to just Mr. Granger. "It's not safe here," he said pointedly.

Her father stared at Ron for a few seconds, then nodded. "Alright. We'll pack what we can." He then put his arm around her mother's shoulders and began to lead her back to the bedroom. Hermione noticed he still carried the gun in his other hand.

"Why does Dad have a gun?" she murmured more to herself than to Ron.

"That muggle weapon? I asked him about it, he said he kinda remembers not feeling safe for the past couple of months. Maybe deep down he knew something was wrong, even when he was under the enchantment…?" Ron guessed, obviously looking to Hermione for her expertise in spellwork.

"Maybe... " she relented. "I'll make a note to look it up at the library…"

Ron chuckled. "I don't doubt it."

"We should help Mum and Dad," she said.

"Let them have a minute, love," Ron recommended.

She sighed again. "I feel bad uprooting them like this. Maybe if we just gave them a few days…"

Ron shook his head. "No. You know we need to leave. We can protect them better at home." He grabbed her shoulders and led her over to the sofa that Kreacher had so vehemently denied sleeping on. "Just relax for a few minutes," he ordered, placing her on the sofa, then sitting next to her.

"Want to talk about your nightmare?" he asked quietly as he lovingly stroked her hair.

"Not right now," she said. The nightmare had deeply disturbed her- her favorite place to spend time with her parents had been about to be detroyed. Just like how she felt that she had wrecked her family.

Ron nodded in reluctant acceptance.

"I can't wait to be home. I can't wait to be with you," she whispered into his ear, changing the subject to a more pleasant topic.

"You are with me, love," Ron muttered back sleepily. He was beginning to close his eyes and lean his head back. Come to think of it, he probably needed some sleep as well; he had been awake for more than tweenty-four hours, she had just realized.

"No, I can't wait to be _with_ you," she emphasized.

Ron's eyes lit up in comprehension. "I can't wait either," he whispered back to her before trailing a few kisses down her neck. Her entire body tingled with excitement and lust at the thought.

"When we get back, you and I are going to be alone; in our own little world," she told him.

And she meant every word.

* * *

 _Authoer's note: So, I know that Hermione's dreams have kind of shifted from what happened to her at Malfoy Mannor to other places and situations at times, but Greyback is terrifying, and Bellatrix's line "I am sure the Dark Lord will not begrudge you the girl, Greyback" after she was done torturing Hermione honestly scared me more than the entire torture scene. I don't know about you, but I was kind of put out by how Bill only had a few scratches on his face in the movie, when lets not forget that Greyback basically disfigured Bill's face to the point that he was laying in a hospital bed and Mrs. Weasley thought he was no longer handsome. I'm just trying to imagine how Hermione must have felt if she was concious enough to hear that line. I think, at least in my story, she still thinks about it sometimes._

 _Also, thank you everyone for your kind reviews. Some shout outs to HeRonLove, JeanAndBilius, and jroseley, who have been loyal fans of the story from the start and have left great reviews after most chapters. TIGERSAGE, you have also been writing detailed reviews which I think have some really great points, so thanks! I'm sorry if I missed anyone else who is a big fan, I just wanted to get this chapter out and those were the names that were jumping out at me as I scrolled through the reviews. If I missed you, please let me know and I'll PM you or mention you next chapter! Much love!_


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